Positive Health Online

Abstract

SHIRATAKI and colleagues, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Josai University, Saitama, Japan compared the cytotoxicity of grape seed extracts with grape peel extracts upon human oral tumour cells lines.

Background

Methodology

The authors used methanol and 70% methanol extracts of grape seed and grape peel extracts and studied their ability to kill two human oral tumour cell lines using ESR spectroscopy.

Results

Methanol and 70% methanol extracts of grape seed selectively killed two human oral tumour cell lines more efficiently than human gingival fibroblasts. ESR spectroscopy revealed that these extracts produced radicals under alkaline conditions and enhanced the radical intensity of sodium ascorbate at higher concentrations. However, lower concentration of these extracts slightly reduced the radical intensity of sodium ascorbate and scavenged superoxide anion, generated by hypoxanthine and xanthine oxidase reaction.

Conclusion

These data and properties of grape seed extracts suggest their possible application for cancer prevention.

References

Shirataki Y et al. Selective cytotoxic activity of grape peel and seed extracts against oral tumor cell lines. Anticancer Research 20(1A): 423-6. Jan-Feb 2000.