Affiliations: Department of Food Science and Technology, School of
Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, South
Korea
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Professor Hyong Joo Lee, Department
of Food Science and Technology, School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul
National University, Shillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, South Korea. Tel.:
+82 2 880 4853; Fax: +82 2 873 5095; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Recent reports suggest that carcinogenicity of hydrogen peroxide
(H_{2}O_{2}) is implicated in inhibition
of gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC), which is a cellular event
associated with the tumor promotion. The present study investigated the effect
of phenolics (KF) from leaves of Abies nephrolepis (Khingan fir) on
inhibition of GJIC by H_{2}O_{2} in
WB-F344 rat liver epithelial cells. The phenolics were extracted from fresh
leaves by using 80% aqueous methanol, and were analyzed mainly as catechin
derivatives including epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and catechin itself. KF
and EGCG protected the inhibition of GJIC by
H_{2}O_{2}, whereas butylated
hydroxytoluene, a commercial antioxidant, had no effect. Our results indicate
that KF exhibits potential chemopreventive effects against carcinogenesis,
which may be attributable to phenolics such as EGCG.
