SCREENING OF POTENTIAL CANCER PREVENTING CHEMICALS FOR INDUCTION OF GLUTATHIONE IN RAT-LIVER CELLS

With BRL 3A hepatocytes, a series of selected, potentially chemopreven tive chemicals was evaluated for their capacity to elevate glutathione (GSH) levels. Since sodium selenite consistently increased GSH levels by similar to 70%, it was selected as a positive control. Of 62 test chemicals, eighteen stimulated GSH levels by >30%, but eleven of these had only a modest effect or displayed considerable toxicity. At non-t oxic concentrations, seven compounds had substantial activity: black t ea extract (decaffeinated), trans-chalcone, N-ethyl-9-cis-retinamide, indole-3-carbinol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) curcumin and N-(4-car boxyphenyl)retinamide. These should be considered for further developm ent as cancer preventive agents.