Anticancer Activity of a Novel High Phenolic Sorghum Bran in Human Colon Cancer Cells

Abstract

Human colon cancer is the third leading cause of mortality in the United States and worldwide. Chemoprevention using diet is widely accepted as a promising approach for cancer management. Numerous population studies indicate a negative correlation between the incidence of colon cancer and consumption of whole grains with a high content of bioactive phenolic compounds. In the current study, we evaluated the anticancer properties of a high phenolic sorghum bran extract prepared using 70% ethanol with 5% citric acid solvent at room temperature. A significant dose-dependent suppression of cell proliferation was observed in human colon cancer cells treated with the high phenolic sorghum bran extract. Apoptosis and S phase growth arrest were induced, while cell migration and invasion were inhibited by this treatment; these effects were accompanied by altered expression of apoptosis, cell cycle, and metastasis-regulating genes. We also found that the high phenolic sorghum bran extract stimulated DNA damage in association with induction of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) and subsequent expression of activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3). The present study expands our understanding of the potential use of high phenolic sorghum bran to prevent human colon cancer.

A Comparative Study on Phenolic Content, Antioxidant Activity and Anti-Inflammatory Capacity of Aqueous and Ethanolic Extracts of Sorghum in Lipopolysaccharide-Induced RAW 264.7 Macrophages

“…Previous studies have shown a wide range of potential biological activities of sorghum 3-deoxyanthocyanidins, including anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects against colon cancer cells [ 9 ] and reducing oxidative stress via increasing the NADH:quinone oxyreductase (NQO) ratio [ 10 ]. Smolensky et al demonstrated the versatile biological roles of phenolic extracts of PI570481, a novel high polyphenol sorghum type, including anti-cancer and anti-microbial effects [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. In addition to their powerful antioxidant ability [ 15 ], sorghum-condensed tannins have shown great inhibitory activities against digestive enzymes, which may partially contribute to the anti-diabetic capacity of sorghum [ 16 ].…”

A mechanistic review: potential chronic disease‐preventive properties of sorghum

“…found that treatment of breast cancer with Hwanggeumchal sorghum blocked its metastasis to the lungs and modulated the Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathway. In addition, high phenolic sorghum extract (accession PI570481) reduced cancer cell migration and invasion with downregulation of β ‐catenin and VEGF 58 . These findings suggest a potential use of sorghum components for the management of late‐stage cancer.…”

“…Several bioactive compounds in sorghum extracts inhibit the anti‐apoptotic protein BCL‐2 in breast cancer cells, 44, 56 and in leukemia cells, 57 and up‐regulate pro‐apoptotic proteins (such as BAK and BAX) and cleavage of caspase 9, caspase 3, PARP, and lamin B in HL60 leukemia cells 57 . Recently Lee et al 58 . observed that a novel high phenolic sorghum (accession PI570481) originally from Sudan showed pro‐apoptotic activity in human colorectal cancer cells (HCT15, SW480, HCT116, and HT‐29) with increased cleavage of caspase‐3 and PARP.…”

“…observed that a novel high phenolic sorghum (accession PI570481) originally from Sudan showed pro‐apoptotic activity in human colorectal cancer cells (HCT15, SW480, HCT116, and HT‐29) with increased cleavage of caspase‐3 and PARP. These increased apoptosis is associated with activation of DNA damage pathway and subsequent expression of proapoptotic protein, ATF3 58 …”

“…However, beneficial effect of sorghum component might be associated with p53‐independent pathway 63 . High phenolic sorghum extract (accession PI570481) also inhibited the proliferation of human colorectal cancer cells through arrest of S phase 58 …”