Anti-tumor effects of bakuchiol, an analogue of resveratrol, on human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell line

Anti-tumor activity of bakuchiol, an analogue of resveratrol, was investigated on human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell line. MTT assay revealed that IC50 of bakuchiol at 72 h was 9.58 ± 1.12 μmol/l, much lower than that of resveratrol (33.02 ± 2.35 μmol/l). Bakuchiol but not resveratrol elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species. Bakuchiol reduced mitochondrial membrane potential (∆Ψm) of cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, showing a more potent effect than that of resveratrol. More apoptotic cells were induced by bakuchiol, compared with resveratrol. Subsequently, S phase arrest, caspase 9/3 activaton, p53 and Bax up-regulation, as well as Bcl-2 down-regulation were observed in bakuchiol-treated A549 cells. The results point toward that S phase-related cell cycle regulation, more importantly reactive oxygen species-related apoptosis might contribute to the anticancer properties of bakuchiol, which will strongly support the further development of bakuchiol against non-small-cell lung cancer.