Tender Coconut Water (TCW), the liquid endosperm of young coconut fruit is not only rich in nutrients but also has bioactive phytohormones such as zeatin, kinetin and their derivatives. Naturally occurring phytohoromes have antiproliferative properties and are effective in inhibiting growth of selected cancer cell lines. According to the Center for disease Control and Prevention, in the United States of America about 21,000 men and 8,000 women are diagnosed with liver cancer every year, and approximately 12,000 men and 8,000 women die of the disease each year. Furthermore, the percentage of Americans diagnosed with liver cancer is on the rise. We evaluated the ability of TCW to prevent the growth and viability of human liver cancer cells, using HepG2 cell line as the model system. HepG2 cells were incubated with increasing concentrations of TCW in MEM media (V/V) supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum for 3–5 days and assessed for cell viability and proliferation. TCW decreased HepG2 cell viability as demonstrated by the MTT assay. In the presence of TCW, the proliferation of the HepG2 cells was significantly decreased as measured by BrdU incorporation assay. We also show that the anchorage‐independent growth ability of HepG2 cells was severely impaired in the presence of TCW as measured by soft‐agar colony forming assay. TCW decreased the tumorigenicity of HepG2 liver cancer cell line. Our results suggest that TCW may have anti‐tumor effects in the treatment of human liver cancer.
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