The physiological effect of conventional treatment with epigallocatechin-3-gallate, thymoquinone, and tannic acid on the LNCaP cell line.
Antioxidants are substances that function to protect cells from damage caused by unstable free radicals, which are responsible for damage that may lead to cancer. (Blot et al., 1993). Several antioxidants have been discussed for use in prevention and treatment of prostate carcinoma. Epidemiological evidence has indicated that these antioxidants may reduce the risk of prostate cancer by underlying mechanisms that remain unclear. The LNCaP cell line was introduced by inoculation from a supraclavicular lymph node metastasis of human prostate cancer (Horoszewicz et al., 1983). The aim of this study was to use the androgen-dependent LNCaP human prostate cancer cell line as a cell model to evaluate the physiological effects to conventional treatments with both low (LD) and high doses (HD) of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), thymoquinone (TQ), and tannic acid (TA). Following treatment, cells were incubated and the various groups were evaluated at 24, 48, and 72 hours. After 24, 48, and 72 hours of incubation, all treated cells caused a reduction in cell growth, but the TQHD treated group seemed to be the most potent. The TQHD group also demonstrated the greatest decrease in total protein levels in comparison to the control. According to one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), significant differences were observed (P < 0.001). Upon observation of the prostatic specific antigen (PSA) values, all groups showed decreased levels; however, the TQHD treated group showed an initial suppression after 24 hours and then finally adapted to treatment after 48 and 72 hours. Malondialdehyde (MDA) values were also assessed at the same three time periods (24, 48, and 72 hours) as an indicator of membrane integrity. After 24 hours of incubation, the TAHD group demonstrated the greatest increase in MDA levels. Morphologically, the cells demonstrated significant changes, such as swelling and irregularity in appearance upon antioxidant exposure. These findings reveal that antioxidants may serve as agents for prostate cancer prevention by providing safer and effective treatments for prostate cancer; however, further experiments are needed to understand the interactions involved.