Curcumin and resveratrol in combination modulates benzo(a)pyrene-induced genotoxicity during lung carcinogenesis.

The present study attempted to explore the efficacy of curcumin and resveratrol in modulating mitotic catastrophe and apoptosis during lung carcinogenesis. The mice were segregated into five groups, which included normal control, benzo(a)pyrene (BP)-treated, BP + curcumin (C)-treated, BP + resveratrol (R)-treated and BP + C + R-treated groups. The BP treatment resulted in a significant increase in the formation of micronuclei as well as in the protein expression of bcl-2 in the lungs of mice. On the other hand, a significant decrease was observed in the number of apoptotic cells and protein expression of bax in the lungs of BP-treated mice. Supplementation of curcumin and resveratrol individually to BP-treated animals resulted in a decrease in the micronuclei formation; however, it was not statistically significant. Interestingly, combination of curcumin and resveratrol resulted in a statistically significant decrease in micronuclei formation. Moreover, phytochemicals in combination significantly reduced ...