Physalis alkekengi var. francheti Hort. is known as an insecticide and traditional remedy for liver related diseases. Therefore, this study investigated the chemopreventive effects of extracts and several solvent fractions (n-hexane, dichloromethane, n-butanol, water) of Physalis alkekengi var. francheti Hort. First, their cytotoxicity and NQO1 activity were measured using an MTT assay, plus a quinone reductase [NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (quinone); NAD(P)H: (quinone acceptor) oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.99.2]-inducing activity assay was performed using cultured murine hepatoma cells (Hepa1c1c7) and its mutant cells(BpRc1). The reduction of electrophilic quinones by NQO1 is an important detoxification pathway and major mechanism of chemoprevention. When compared with the other solvent soluble fractions with different polarities, the dichloromethane fraction of Physalis alkekengi var. francheti Hort. showed a higher NQO1-inducing activity that was also dose-dependent. Moreover, the dichloromethane fraction of Physalis alkekengi var. francheti Hort. induced ARE-luciferase activities in HepG2-C8 cells that were generated by transfecting the ARE-luciferase gene construct, suggesting the Nrf2-ARE-mediated induction of anti-oxidative enzymes. In conclusion, the dichloromethane-soluble fraction of Physalis alkekengi var. francheti Hort. showed a relatively strong induction of detoxifying enzymes, thereby meriting further study to identify the active components and evaluate their potential as cancer preventive agents.

 Abstract  Introduction  Materials and Methods   Materials   Cell culture   Preparation of samples   MTT cytotoxicity assay   Quinone reductase activity assay   Assay of reporter gene activity   Western blot analysis   Statistical analysis  Results   Extraction rate of sample according to experimental setting   Anti-proliferative effects of extract and solvent fractions from P. alkekengi var. francheti Hort. in mouse hepatoma cells.   Induction levels of QR using extract and solvent fractions of P. alkekengi var. francheti Hort. in mouse hepatoma cells.   Effect of extract and solvent fractions of P. alkekengi var. francheti Hort. on pARE-TI-Luciferase expression   Effect of extract and solvent fractions of P. alkekengi var. francheti Hort. on phase 2 enzyme expression in hepa1c1c7 cells  Discussion  Acknowledgments  References

• Seo, JiYeon(School of Food Science and Biotechnology, BK21 Plus Creative Innovation Group for Leading Future Functional Food Industry, Kyungpook National University, Korea)
• Kim, Hyo Jung( School of Food Science and Biotechnology, BK21 Plus Creative Innovation Group for Leading Future Functional Food Industry, Kyungpook National University, Korea) | Kim, Hyo Jung
• Kim, Jong-Sang( School of Food Science and Biotechnology, BK21 Plus Creative Innovation Group for Leading Future Functional Food Industry, Kyungpook National University, Korea) | Kim, Jong-Sang