Background:

Bergamottin is a potent and competitive CYP1A1 inhibitor with a Ki of 10.703 nM.

Bergamottin is a competitive inhibitor of CYP1A1. Bergamottin inhibits CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP2B1, and CYP2B2 with IC50s of 0.192±0.029 μM, 5.077±0.31 μM, 9.495±0.979 μM, 4.535±0.092 μM, respectively[1]. Bergamottin has potent antiproliferative effects on the A549 cells. Bergamottin shows both concentration-dependent as well as time?dependent growth inhibitory effects against these cells. Bergamottin also inhibits the clonogenic activity of the A549 cancer cells by reducing the number of cancer colony forming cells. A reduction in clonogenicity also follows the concentration dependence on Bergamottin[2].

The anticancer efficacy of Bergamottin under in vivo conditions using female BALB/c nude mice (a total of 20 mice are used) is determined. Tumors are induced in the mice by injecting non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells (1×106 cells/mouse). After tumor formation, the mice are sacrificed and tumors are removed and their weights and volumes are calculated. The results show that 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg Bergamottin injection reduce the tumor weight from 1.61 g in the PBS-treated group (control) to 1.21, 0.42 and 0.15 g, respectively. Tumor weight in the nude mice is reduced much more significantly in the highest-concentration Bergamottin group (100 mg/kg body weight) compared with the vehicle group (P<0.05). Likewise, 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg Bergamottin injection reduces the tumor volume from 2.2 cm3 in the PBS-treated group (control) to 1.71, 1.1 and 0.51 cm3, respectively. The periodic measurement of the tumor xenograft volume indicates that the tumor volume in the nude mice is reduced considerably in the highest-concentration Bergamottin group (100 mg/kg body weight) compared with the vehicle group (P<0.05)[2].

[1]. Olguín-Reyes S, et al. Bergamottin is a competitive inhibitor of CYP1A1 and is antimutagenic in the Ames test. Food Chem Toxicol. 2012 Sep;50(9):3094-9. [2]. Wu HJ, et al. Bergamottin isolated from Citrus bergamia exerts in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity in lung adenocarcinoma through the induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, mitochondrial membrane potential loss and inhibition of cell migration and invasion. Oncol Rep. 2016 Jul;36(1):324-32.