Influence of L-rhamnosyl-D-glucosyl derivatives on properties and biological interaction of flavonoids.

The anti-proliferative activity of hesperetin, hesperidin, neohesperidin and rutin was evaluated on human hepatoma cell lines (Hep G2) and correlated to their antioxidant activity. The results obtained showed strong anti-proliferative effects of hesperidin and neohesperidin, considerably higher than the other two additives. Hesperetin induced caspase-3 activation, release of LDH and endogenous accumulation of putrescine. Cell cycle distribution seems to indicate that the inhibitory effects of polyphenols on cell growth could be due to G0/G1 block, and activation of apoptotic pathway in the presence of hesperetin. Our results underline also that the glycone forms show reduced scavenging activity against DPPH, but present a remarkable inhibition of cell proliferation and low cytotoxicity.