Abstract

The effects of oil palm phenolics (OPP) on cell lines were demonstrated in this study. OPP dose-dependent studies in selected cell cultures showed that OPP inhibited the proliferation of mouse IgA-secreting myeloma (J558), estrogen-receptor-positive human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7) and human lung carcinoma (A549) cells at all doses. However, OPP enhanced the proliferation of Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) and Aedes albopictus larvae (C6/36) cells at all concentrations, whereas, growth of Syrian Baby Hamster Kidney (BHK) cells was only enhanced with low doses of OPP. 5% OPP in combination with 5% fetal calf serum (FCS) was shown to be as effective as 10% FCS on the growth of BHK and A549 cells. In vivo studies using J558 myeloma cells showed that OPP caused tumor regression. These findings imply that OPP has anti-proliferative effects on tumor cells in vitro and in vivo, but conversely enhances the growth of normal cells.

Key words: Elaies guineensis, oil palm, phenolics, cancer, cell lines, apoptosis.