Anticancer activity of two dietary phytochemicals: Genistein and beta-lapachone

Phytochemicals are biologically active secondary plant metabolites that have been shown to exhibit anti-cancer activity. The dietary phytochemicals genistein isoflavone and beta-lapachone, were investigated to determine their effect on the growth of human prostate adenocarcinoma cells in vitro. The cells were exposed to varying concentrations of both phytochemicals in single and combination treatments for specified time periods and their effect was determined using post-treatment cell viability, treatment-induced apoptosis and cell signaling assays. The overall results revealed that both phytochemicals inhibited cell growth and proliferation and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner for both single and combination treatments. However, combination treatments were not significantly more effective than single treatment with either drug. Both phytochemicals could therefore offer therapeutic efficacy in human prostate adenocarcinoma.