ANTRODIA CAMPHORATA GROWN ON GERMINATED BROWN RICE INHIBITS HUMAN HEPATIC CARCINOMA CELLS PPROLIFERATION VIA G0/G1 CELL CYCLE ARREST AND APOPTOSIS INDUCTION

Antrodia camphorata (A. camphorata) is a parasitic fungus that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine because of its wide range of pharmacological activities. The purpose of this study is to investigate the antiproliferative effect and the mechanism of the ethyl acetate extract from A. camphorata grown on germinated brown rice (AGBR-EtoAc) in human hepatic carcinoma HepG2 cell lines. The results show that AGBR-EtoAc has significant remarkable inhibitory and antiproliferative effects on HepG2 cells in a concentration and time dependent manner. AGBR-EtoAc involved in the regulation of G0/G1 cell-cycle arrest and induced cell apoptosis. The protein levels of Cdk4 and cyclin D1 in the AGBR-EtoAc treated group were lower than those in the control group. Also, the expressions of the p53 and Bax were increased and Bcl-2 protein was downregulated with AGBR-EtoAc treatment. These findings suggest that AGBR-EtoAc extracts might act as an effective anti-proliferative agent by inducing G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and involved cell apoptosis in hepatic carcinoma cells.