Fig. 1

Viability of colon cancer HCT116 cells treated with 5-Fu or curcumin, alone or in different combinations. a. Growth-inhibitory curves of HCT116 cells exposing to gradient concentrations of 5-Fu or curcumin alone: (a) and (b) for 24 h, and (c) and (d) 48 h, respectively. b. Comparison of viabilities in HCT116 treated for 48 h with different combinational protocols. Cur: curcumin alone, 5-Fu: 5-Fu alone, pre-Cur: pretreated with curcumin for 24 h followed by 5-Fu for 24 h, Cur + 5-Fu: co-treated with 5-Fu and curcumin for 24 h, pre-5-Fu: pretreated with 5-Fu for 24 h followed by curcumin for 24 h.: (a) 10 μM curcumin/10 μM 5-Fu, (b) 10 μM curcumin/20 μM 5-Fu, (c) 20 μM curcumin/10 μM 5-Fu and (d) 20 μM curcumin and 20 μM 5-Fu