Anti-Colon Cancer Activity of Novel Peptides Isolated from In Vitro Digestion of Quinoa Protein in Caco-2 Cells

Abstract

Quinoa peptides are the bioactive components obtained from quinoa protein digestion, which have been proved to possess various biological activities. However, there are few studies on the anticancer activity of quinoa peptides, and the mechanism has not been clarified. In this study, the novel quinoa peptides were obtained from quinoa protein hydrolysate and identified by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The anticancer activity of these peptides was predicted by PeptideRanker and evaluated using an antiproliferative assay in colon cancer Caco-2 cells. Combined with the result of histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) inhibitory activity assay, the highly anticancer activity peptides FHPFPR, NWFPLPR, and HYNPYFPG were screened and further investigated. Molecular docking was used to analyze the binding site between peptides and HDAC1, and results showed that three peptides were bound in the active pocket of HDAC1. Moreover, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and Western blot showed that the expression of HDAC1, NFκB, IL-6, IL-8, Bcl-2 was significantly decreased, whereas caspase3 expression showed a remarkable evaluation. In conclusion, quinoa peptides may have the potential to protect against cancer development by inhibiting HDAC1 activity and regulating the expression of the cancer-related genes, which indicates that these peptides could be explored as functional foods to alleviate colon cancer.

Formulation of quinoa oil-alginate loaded nanoemulsion and its anticancer efficacy as a therapy for chemically induced breast cancer

“…Quinoa oil nanoemulsion administration showed marked improvement, manifested by a reduction in epithelial cell proliferation. This is in agreement with a recent study that con rms the anti-proliferative role of quinoa peptide in obstructing colon cancer cell proliferation [43]. Also, a study demonstrated that quinoa seed oil inhibits the growth of HCT 116 cells by inducing apoptosis, suggesting that it may be used as a functional food to prevent colon cancer.…”

The Role of Amaranth, Quinoa, and Millets for the Development of Healthy, Sustainable Food Products—A Concise Review

“…The same author also demonstrated that the antidiabetic effects of quinoa peptides were due to enzyme inhibition of α- amylase, α-glucosidase, and dipeptidyl peptidase IV. Guo et al [ 32 ] showed that quinoa peptides obtained through in vitro digestion exhibited antihypertensive effects in rats in the form of ACE inhibitory activity. Similar to quinoa, the peptides from raw and heat-treated amaranth seeds showed anticancer activity by apoptosis and cell growth inhibition when evaluated using breast cancer cell lines [ 33 ] and HT-29 colon cancer cells [ 34 ].…”

A quinoa peptide protects impaired mucus barriers in colitis mice by inhibiting NF-κB-TRPV1 signaling and regulating the gut microbiota

“…These studies have revealed the remarkable potential of quinoa protein in generating bioactive peptides with multifunctional properties, including hypoglycemic, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, anti-colon cancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. [14][15][16][17] Lunasin, a 43-amino-acid peptide found in quinoa seeds, has been shown to inhibit nitric oxide (NO) and inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. 17 Additionally, chenopodin, another component of quinoa, has demonstrated the ability to decrease the expression levels of NF-κB and IL-8 in Caco-2 cells.…”