A comparative study on ebselen and sodium selenite against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative damage in HepG2 cells

The present study was designed to compare the antioxidative capability of two selenium compounds, ebselen and sodium selenite against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative damage in a human hepatoma cell line, HepG2 cells. The results showed that ebselen stimulated but Na2SeO3 suppressed cell growth as measured by MTT test. Ebselen also showed strong protective effect against H2O2-induced cytotoxicity (LDH leakage) and lipid peroxidation (MDA generation). In contrast, Na2SeO3 failed to display any protective effect. Furthermore, ebselen demonstrated a much stronger reduction effect on intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in H2O2-treated HepG2 cells. These results suggested that ebselen, compared to Na2SeO3, has a lower cytotoxicity and stronger antioxidative capability against H2O2-induced oxidative damage.