Protective Effects of Anthocyanin Fraction of Berberis integerrima Bunge Fruits against H2O2 Induced Cytotoxicity in MCF7 and HepG2 Cells

Objective: Berberis integerrima Bunge show different pharmacological effects. Its fruits are rich sources of anthocyanin with biological activities. The aim of this study was evaluation of protective effects of isolated anthocyanin fraction of Berberis integerrima Bunge fruits (AFBI) against cytotoxicity induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in HepG2 and MCF-7 cell lines. Method: Cytotoxicity of ABIF and H2O2 was identified by MTT assay. In pretreatment studies, the cells were pre-exposed to nontoxic concentrations of AFBI for 24 h then cytotoxic concentration of H2O2 was added. In co-treatment study, the cells were exposed to nontoxic concentrations of AFBI and then cytotoxic concentration of H2O2, simultaneously. Result: ABIF exhibited significant toxicity at concentration of >800 μg/ml in both cell lines. The IC50 for H2O2 were 253 μM and 200 μM for MCF7 and HepG2 cells, respectively. In pre-treatment assay, anthocyanin able to increase viability of MCF7 cells at 200 and 400 μg/ml concentrations compared with the control. In HepG2 cells no significant difference in cell viability was observed compared with the control. In co-treatment study in MCF7 cells, the significant difference in cell viability was observed at all concentrations of ABIF (25-400 μg/ml), while the significant increase in cell viability were showed at 100, 200 and 400 μg/ml in HepG2 cells. Conclusion: This study suggests that AFBI is cytoprotective against H2O2-induced oxidative stress in HepG2 and MCF7. This is likely due to its antioxidant activities. This protective effect could be considered as approach for treatment of oxidative stress related diseases.

Key message: Berberis integerrima fruits might be consider as cytoprotective against H2O2-induced oxidative stress