The chemopreventive effect of β-cryptoxanthin from mandarin on human stomach cells (BGC-823)

β-Cryptoxanthin, a provitaminic carotenoid, present in many fruits and vegetables, has been associated with decreased risk of chronic diseases, including cancer. The influence of β-cryptoxanthin derived from mandarin on the proliferation of the stomach tumor cell line BGC-823 was tested using MTT and cell count assay at 72 h and dose–response (from 0.01 to 20 μM). β-Cryptoxanthin suppressed the cell migration by the scratch assay. Furthermore, β-cryptoxanthin induced an accumulation of cells in the G1/G0 phase of the cell cycle (as detected by flow cytometry), which was in accordance with an increased expression of p21 and down regulations of cyclin D1 and cyclin E, detected by Western blot analysis, and β-cryptoxanthin increased the mRNA levels of retinoic acid receptor β (RARβ) with the treatment at 10 μM for 24 h. Collectively, the above findings suggest that β-cryptoxanthin could be therapeutic in the treatment of stomach cancer cell in vitro.