Anti-cancer effects of polyphenol-rich sugarcane extract

PLoS One. 2021 Mar 10;16(3):e0247492. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247492. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Plant polyphenols have an array of health benefits primarily thought to be related to their high content of anti-oxidants. These are commonly undervalued and knowledge of their biological properties have grown exponentially in the last decade. Polyphenol-rich sugarcane extract (PRSE), a natural extract from sugar cane, is marketed as high in anti-oxidants and polyphenols, but its anti-cancer activity has not been reported previously. We show that, PRSE exerts anti-cancer properties on a range of cancer cells including human (LIM2045) and mouse (MC38, CT26) colon cancer cells lines; human lung cancer (A549), human ovarian cancer (SKOV-3), pro-monocytic human leukemia (U937) and to mouse melanoma (B16) cell lines; whereas no effects were noted on human breast (ZR-75-1) and human colon (HT29) cancer cell lines, as well as to human normal colon epithelial cell line (T4056). Anti-proliferative effects were shown to be mediated via alteration in cytokines, VEGF-1 and NF-κB expression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • A549 Cells
  • Animals
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / pharmacology
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Apoptosis / drug effects*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects*
  • Cell Survival / drug effects
  • Colonic Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Colonic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Cytokines / metabolism
  • HT29 Cells
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Lung Neoplasms / pathology
  • Mice
  • NF-kappa B / metabolism
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Polyphenols / pharmacology*
  • Saccharum / chemistry*
  • U937 Cells

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Cytokines
  • NF-kappa B
  • Plant Extracts
  • Polyphenols

Grants and funding

The study was supported by The Product Makers (TPM) (Australia) Pty Ltd (http://www.tpm.com.au/) and the Innovation Connections Grant, Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, VIC Australia (https://www.industry.gov.au/). The funder (TPM) provided support in the form of salaries for authors M.F and B.K but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. VA was the recipient of all funding for this study.