Assessment by the Fluorescence Imaging Methods of the Antitumor Efficacy and Apoptotic Activity of Biologically Active Additives Containing Resveratrol, Indole-3-Carbinol, and Cordycepin in Human Renal Carcinoma Cells

The efficacy of antitumor efficacy and apoptosis induction in A498 human renal cell carcinoma observed when applying extracts of cruciferous herbal material (indole-3-carbinol), Chinese mushroom (cordycepin), and French red wine (resveratrol) at low concentrations after 24 and 48 h were compared in vitro in this study. Fluorescence methods were used for imaging apoptosis and necrosis in human tumor cells in vitro. Propidium iodide and acridine orange were chosen as dyes in the “live/dead” assay, which made it possible to identify the number of dead cells and cells with apoptosis initiated. It was found that indole-3-carbinol at low concentrations (0.0288 and 0.1152 mg/mL) displayed a pronounced cytotoxic and cytostatic activity against human kidney cancer cells, significantly exceeding that of resveratrol at the same concentrations. Meanwhile, cordycepin showed no cytotoxic or cytostatic activity at these concentrations. Indole-3-carbinol demonstrated the most pronounced apoptotic activity at concentrations of 0.0144–0.1152 mg/ml; in 48 h, the number of kidney cancer cells in apoptosis increased 6.8–10 times compared to the control group. It is concluded that indole-3-carbinol is a promising antitumor agent to use in the complex therapy of patients with kidney cancer.