Sodium sulfite effects on human liver cells in lab
What it found
In lab tests on human liver cells, sodium sulfite changed cell shape, slowed cell growth and led to cell death.
The effects increased with higher doses and longer exposure.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Cell shape and growth
As sodium sulfite concentration increased, the liver cells changed shape and their growth and activity were inhibited.
Cell death
Sodium sulfite caused apoptosis (programmed cell death) in a way that depended on both concentration and time.
Gene changes
Sequencing found 97 differentially expressed genes between cells treated at the IC50 dose and untreated cells. Of 27 genes related to cell death, metabolism and inflammation that were checked further, 13 were significantly upregulated and 14 significantly downregulated.
Toxic mechanism
The toxic mechanism appears to inhibit cell growth, damage the energy-producing parts of the cell (mitochondria), and promote cell death.
What the authors conclude
“The resulting toxic mechanism inhibits proliferation, damages the mitochondrial integrity, and promotes apoptosis.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that sodium sulfite inhibits cell proliferation, damages mitochondrial integrity, and promotes apoptosis.
- Their results show that sodium sulfite caused apoptosis in a concentration- and time-dependent manner.
How it was done
Food additives are widely used to preserve taste, colour and other qualities, but improper or excessive use can harm the body. Sulfite is a common additive used to stop oxidation and as a bleaching agent, so the authors wanted to understand its toxicity.
They used human liver cells (L02) as a model to test sodium sulfite. They looked at cell shape, cell growth and cell death, and used gene sequencing to find which genes changed.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These are lab tests on human liver cells grown in a dish. They can't show what happens in a whole person.
- The study used a single cell line, so the findings may not apply to other cell types or to real-life eating situations.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- Jiangsu University, People's Republic of China
The paper
- Title
- Mechanism analysis of toxicity of sodium sulfite to human hepatocytes L02
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Han X, Zhu F, Chen L, Wu H, Wang T, Chen K (2020). Mechanism analysis of toxicity of sodium sulfite to human hepatocytes L02. Molecular and cellular biochemistry. doi:10.1007/s11010-020-03805-8PubMed 32632612DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error