In the Search for Novel, Isoflavone-Rich Functional Foods—Comparative Studies of Four Clover Species Sprouts and Their Chemopreventive Potential for Breast and Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Despite a significant amount of research, the relationship between a diet rich in isoflavones and breast and prostate cancer risk is still ambiguous. The purpose of the current study was to pre-select the potential candidate for functional foods among red, white, crimson, and Persian clover sprouts, cultured for different periods of time (up to 10 days), with respect to the isoflavone content (determined by HPLC-UV-VIS), and to verify their impact on hormone-dependent cancers in vitro. The red clover sprouts were the richest in isoflavones (up to 426.2 mg/100 g dw), whereas the lowest content was observed for the crimson clover. Each species produced isoflavones in different patterns, which refer to the germination time. Hormone-insensitive MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were more resistant to the tested extracts than estrogen-dependent MCF7 breast cancer cells. Regarding prostate cancer, androgen-dependent LNCap cells were most susceptible to the tested sprouts, followed by androgen-insensitive, high metastatic PC3, and low metastatic DU145 cells. The observed cytotoxic impact of the tested sprouts is not associated with isoflavone content, as confirmed by chemometric analysis. Furthermore, the sprouts tested revealed a high antioxidant potential, and were characterized by high safety for normal breast and prostate cells.

Can Simulated Microgravity and Darkness Conditions Influence the Phytochemical Content and Bioactivity of the Sprouts?—A Preliminary Study on Selected Fabaceae Species

“…This observation can be explained by the concentration of isoflavones and phenolic acids, as these sprouts contained the highest amount of the compounds, e.g., the 5LM sprouts had the highest amount of isoflavones, while the 5DM, 6D, and 7DM sprouts were the richest in phenolic acids. The comparison of our results with those obtained by Galanty et al (2022) for white clover sprouts showed higher antioxidant activity for control sprouts as well as for the sprouts grown under stress conditions (simulated microgravity and total darkness) [18]. Based on these results, it can be concluded that stress conditions like simulated microgravity and the lack of sunlight during the early stage of sprouting can stimulate the antioxidant activity of the sprouts.…”

“…Similarly to that study, it was found that white clover contained isoflavones such as ononin and formononetin, but additionally we also found daidzin. Ononin and formononetin concentrations were significantly higher in our previous study [18]. This discrepancy in the results may be caused by the use of different clover varieties; in this study, we used Trifolium nano repens seeds, and in the previous study, Trifolium repens Grasslands variety was used.…”

“…This decision was based on the content of isoflavones, which may play a role in breast cancer prevention [32] and inhibit estrogen-dependent tumorigenesis [33]. Cytotoxic activity of white clover sprouts was reported only in our previous article [18], using the same prostate and breast cancer cell lines. The only differences are the variety of white clover seeds and concentrations of extracts used in the cytotoxicity test.…”

Optimization of the Extraction Procedure for the Phenolic-Rich Glechoma hederacea L. Herb and Evaluation of Its Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Potential

“…For the determination of polyphenols in plant extract samples the HPLC method, previously described [55] was used. The HPLC system consisted of a Dionex 100 (Dionex Softron GmbH, Germering, Germany) with a Photodiode 100 detector.…”

Wheat sprouts (Triticum aestivum Linn.) cultured by a smart farm system ameliorate NAFLD through the AMPK-mediated SREBP signaling pathway

“…This bioprocess also enhances vitamin and bioactive compound levels. Common seeds used for sprouts include alfalfa (Logan et al, 2001 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ), broccoli (Chiriac et al, 2020 ; Subedi et al, 2019 ), clover (Dębski et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ), radishes (Subedi et al, 2019 ), rapeseed (Galanty et al, 2022 ), Chinese cabbage, red cabbage, barley, and wheat (Xiao et al, 2022 ). However, the contents may differ depending on the cultivation method of the plant (Galanty et al, 2022 ).…”