Fig. 1

MTT assay after treatment of HCT116 and CCD-18Co cells with curcumin. (a) After treatment of HCT116 cells with curcumin, cellular proliferation is inhibited in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner; (b) In CCD-18Co cells, curcumin exhibited relatively lower cytotoxicity compared to HCT116 cells. (c) The IC₅₀ values of curcumin for HCT116 cells were 4.69 µg/mL and 5.13 µg/mL at 24 and 48 h, respectively. (d) The IC₅₀ values of curcumin for CCD-18Co cells were 26.85 µg/mL and 12.15 µg/mL at 24 and 48 h, respectively. Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test. Each condition was tested in triplicate across three independent experiments. Results are presented as mean ± SD (n = 3). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. MTT, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide; HCT, human colon cancer cell line.