Ginger's (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) inhibition of rat colonic adenocarcinoma cells proliferation and angiogenesis in vitro

Abstract Ginger's ( Zingiber officinale Roscoe) natural bioactives, specifically ginger extract and 6‐gingerol, were measured for their in vitro inhibition of two key aspects of colon cancer biology – cancer cell proliferation and angiogenic potential of endothelial cell tubule formation. Ginger extract was obtained via column distillation, while the 6‐gingerol was purchased from Calbiochem. Antiproliferation activity was assessed through tritiated thymidine ([ 3 H]Tdr) incorporation studies of YYT colon cancer cells; the anti‐angiogenic ability of gingerol was assessed by a Matrigel assays using MS1 endothelial cells. These selected ginger bioactives had: 1) a direct effect on YYT rat cancer cell proliferation (6–1.5% ginger extract; 100–4 µM 6‐gingerol); 2) an indirect effect on MS1 endothelial cell function either at the level of endothelial cell proliferation or through inhibition of MS1 endothelial cell tube formation (100–0.8 µM). Compound 6‐gingerol was most effective at lower doses in inhibiting endothelial cell tube formation. These in vitro studies show that 6‐gingerol has two types of antitumor effects: 1) direct colon cancer cell growth suppression, and 2) inhibition of the blood supply of the tumor via angiogenesis. Further research is warranted to test 6‐gingerol in animal studies as a potential anticancer plant bioactive in the complementary treatment of cancer. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.