Synergistic anticancer activity of resveratrol with cisplatin and carboplatin in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells.

Background: This study looked at the efficacy of combining the phytochemical resveratrol with the anticancer drugs cisplatin and carboplatin on lung adenocarcinoma cell lines.

Materials and methods: We used MTT assay and generation of Reactive Oxygen Species levels using molecular fluorogenic probe 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H2DCFDA) to investigate the effects of resveratrol in combination with cisplatin and carboplatin on the proliferation and viability of cells and levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Results: Resveratrol has an anti-proliferative effect on A549 lung cancer cells, inhibiting cell proliferation in a dose and time-dependent manner. Resveratrol in conjunction with cisplatin and carboplatin inhibited cell proliferation synergistically. The combination therapy of cisplatin and carboplatin with Resveratrol showed enhanced growth inhibition of lung cancer cells in in-vitro with IC50 values of 15.09 ± 0.71 µM and IC50 values of 21.72 ± 1.9 µM, respectively. The present investigation also revealed the significant dose-dependent ROS generation in A549 cells by cisplatin, carboplatin, and their combination with resveratrol. Carboplatin treatment in combination with Resveratrol induced a higher generation of ROS (3.4-fold) when compared to carboplatin treatment (2.4-fold) at the highest concentration.

Conclusions: Our findings offered a basis for further research for assessing the potential of Resveratrol as a therapeutic agent to treat lung adenocarcinoma and whether it can be used as an adjuvant with drugs like cisplatin and carboplatin for improving their efficacies. However, the underlying processes of cell inhibition and cell death should be thoroughly investigated.