Protective effect of chlorophyllin and lycopene from water spinach extract on cytotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by heavy metals in human hepatoma cells.

The purpose of this study was to examine the inhibitory effects of ethanol extract of water spinach (EEWS) containing chlorophyll and lycopene on cytotoxicity and oxidative stress in liver induced by heavy metals. The (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) MTT assay and dichlorofluorescein (DCF) assay were conducted to measure cytotoxicity and inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS), respectively. Cytotoxicity was prevented at a concentration of 11.7 mg/L of EEWS. Both sodium copper chlorophyllin (SCC) and lycopene in EEWS were identified by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-photodiode array-electrospray ionization-mass spectroscopy (UPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MSn) as major components at m/z 722.64 and 535.45, respectively. The concentrations of SCC and lycopene were 0.12 and 0.04 mg from 100 g of dried powder, respectively. Approximately 99% cytotoxicity induced by Cd was inhibited by EEWS. However, the inhibitory effect attributed to generation of ROS was similar with SCC, lycopene, and EEWS. Our results indicated that EEWS was effective in reducing cytotoxicity and oxidative stress produced by heavy metals in a HepG2 cell. Data suggest that the possible mechanism underlying the preventive action of SCC might be associated with diminished absorption of metal ions by chelating and blocking metal-mediated generation of ROS, while lycopene effects may be attributed to its high number of conjugated dienes that act as most potent singlet oxygen quenchers.