Allyl sulfides from garlic suppress the in vitro proliferation of human a549 lung tumor cells

Abstract

The present studies compared the antiproliferative effects of diallyl trisulfide (DATS) and diallyl disulfide (DADS) on cultured human neoplastic (A549) and nonneo‐plastic (MRC‐5) lung cells. Addition of 10 μM DATS reduced A549 growth by 47%, whereas 10 μM DADS decreased growth by only 20%. DATS treatment (10 μM) did not alter MRC‐5 cell growth. DATS (10 μM) caused a marked and progressive increase in intracellular Ca²⁺ in A549 cells during the first four hours after treatment. Intracellular Ca²⁺ in A549 cells exposed to DATS returned to near control levels within one hour after refeeding complete medium without DATS. Exposure to 1 μM DATS for 24 hours significantly induced apoptosis, as indicated by increased DNA fragmentation. The ability of DATS and DADS to suppress neoplastic growth is consistent with increasing evidence that several garlic components have anticarcinogenic and antitumori‐genic properties.