Reducing gefitinib-induced cytotoxicity by curcumin derivatives. Non-transformed rat small intestinal cell line IEC-18 was treated with 40 μM gefitinib with 5 μM compound 1 (curcumin), 2 (dimethyl curcumin), 5, 10, or 23, for 24 h. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay and expressed as proliferative index (%) standardized by untreated cells (100%). Effects of compounds were evaluated by student t-test and represented p<0.05 (*) or p<0.01 (**).