Anticarcinogenic effects attributed to phytochemicals may be based on synergistic, additive, or antagonistic interactions of many compounds. In our previous study, we demonstrated that the chloroform fraction (CHCl3-F) from Z. jujuba has anticancer activity in HepG2 cells. In China, many people drink jujuba tea and believe in the synergic effects of jujuba and tea for better health. We therefore investigated the effects of CHCl3-F and green tea extract (GTE), and their underlying mechanisms of action in HepG2 cells. Our results showed that GTE enhanced the effect of CHCl3-F on cell viability in HepG2 cells, without cytotoxicity in rat hepatocytes, which was used as a normal cell model. Furthermore, combination of CHCl3-F and GTE caused an effect on G1 phase arrest but not on apoptosis. Interestingly, the mechanism of the G1 arrest was associated, not with an increase in p27Kip1 levels and the hypohosphorylation of Rb, which are pathways used by CHCl3-F on G1 arrest in HepG2 cells, but with increases in p53 and p21Waf1/Cip1 levels, and a decrease in cyclin E levels. Collectively, our findings suggest that combination of CHCl3-F and GTE produces an enhanced cell growth inhibition effect, and that the resultant G1 arrest was caused via a different mechanism as that of CHCl3-F treatment alone.
