Structure analysis of ethyl ferulate from Rubus corchorifolius L.f. leaves and its inhibitory effects on HepG2 liver cancer cells. (February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Xuexiang; Wu, Xian; Liu, Guo; Wang, Qun; Itenberg, Sasha A.; Ouyang, Wen; Song, Mingyue; Dixon, William R.; Cao, Yong; Xiao, Hang
• Is Part Of: Food bioscience. Volume 45(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-02
• Subjects: Rubus corchorifolius L.f -- Ethyl ferulate -- Bioactive compound -- Functional food -- Apoptosis; MTT 3- [4, 5-dimeth-ythylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide -- PI propidium iodide -- DMSO dimethyl sulfoxide -- PARP poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase -- MMP mitochondrial membrane potential; Food -- Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Food -- Research -- Periodicals; Aliments -- Biotecnologia -- Revistes; Aliments -- Investigació -- Revistes; Food -- Biotechnology; Food -- Research; Revistes electròniques; Periodicals; 664.005
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fbio.2021.101340
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2212-4292

Abstract

Abstract: The tender leaves of Rubus corchorifolius L. f. ( R. corchorifolius ) have been made into herbal tea for relieving coughs in East and Southeast Asia from ancient times. Herein, we obtained an ethyl acetate extract from R. corchorifolius leaves and isolated a major bioactive compound within. Structural analysis of the isolated compound was performed by spectroscopic methods and the compound was identified as ethyl ferulate. Effect of ethyl ferulate on the growth and proliferation of human liver cancer HepG2 cells and normal human liver LO2 cells was determined by MTT assay. We found that ethyl ferulate significantly suppressed the cell proliferation of HepG2 cells (IC50 26.4 μM), while it did not cause cytotoxicity on LO2 cells. In addition, flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that ethyl ferulate inhibited HepG2 cell growth via inducing cellular apoptosis. Specifically, ethyl ferulate reduced the electrical potential of the mitochondrial membrane and increased the concentration of calcium ions inside cells. Moreover, these changes were accompanied by increases in the expression of the pro-apoptotic proteins, such as cleaved caspase-3 and Bax. In contrast, cell morphology and growth of LO2 cells remained unaffected. In conclusion, for the first time, our observations demonstrated that ethyl ferulate possesses great potential as an effective and safe antitumor agent for cancer chemoprevention in humans. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Abstract : Practical Application: The tender leaves of Rubus corchorifolius L. f. ( R. corchorifolius ) have been made into herbal tea for relieving coughs in East and Southeast Asia from ancient times. Herein, we isolated ethyl ferulate from the ethyl acetate extract of R. corchorifolius leaves. Importantly, we investigated its protective efficacy in HepG2 liver cancer cell line and the underlying molecular mechanisms. For the first time, we demonstrated that ethyl ferulate possesses great potential as a natural chemopreventive compound for liver cancer prevention in humans.