Paeonol inhibits tumor growth in gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo

Figure 5 Paeonol inhibits gastric tumor growth in vivo associated with induction of apoptosis and inhibiting proliferation. A: Effects of paeonol or 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in tumor volume. Values are expressed as the mean ± SD (n = 12-14). ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01, paeonol treated vs model group; B: Hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections of mouse forestomach carcinoma (MFC) tumors from untreated controls showed numerous cells in mitosis (left), paeonol (200 mg/kg) treatment suppressed cell proliferation, as indicated by the small number of mitotic cells (right) (× 400); C: TUNEL stained sections of MFC tumors from untreated control displayed occasionally apoptotic cells (left). Tumors from mice treated with paeonol (200 mg/kg) had a prominent population of cells with condensed or fragmented nuclei and cytoplasm shrinkage, indicating apoptosis (right) (× 400). The arrows indicate apoptotic cells.