Comparison of anticancer activity and antioxidant activity between cyanidin-3-O-glucoside liposomes and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside in Caco-2 cells in vitro

Abstract

In this study, we compared the antioxidant activities of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) and C3G liposomes. We also compared the anticancer activities of C3G and C3G liposomes in Caco-2 cells. The radical scavenging activity of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and the scavenging activity of 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid were used to evaluate the antioxidant activity of C3G and C3G liposomes. In addition, cell morphology, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, the microscopic structure of cells, and flow cytometry analysis were used to evaluate their anticancer activities. The CCK-8 assay results demonstrated that C3G and C3G liposomes reduced the mitochondrial activity of cells through dose effect, and the viabilities of Caco-2 cells were significantly decreased in vitro following exposure to C3G liposomes at 0.20 and 0.25 mg mL⁻¹ concentrations. The microscopic structure of cells exhibited the changes in the numbers and structures of mitochondria and fat droplet and the appearance of physalides, there by indicating that C3G liposomes affects the microscopic structure of cells. The CCK-8 evaluation of cell proliferation and the FCM analysis supported the anti-proliferative effects of C3G liposomes. Results demonstrated that the presence of C3G liposomes was more significant than that of C3G in inhibiting the proliferation of human tumor cells. Therefore, C3G liposomes have a potential therapeutic modality in tumor management.