Antiproliferative effects of Turkish pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) extracts on MCF-7 human breast cancer cell lines with focus on antioxidant potential and bioactive compounds analyzed by LC-MS/MS.

In this study, eight different pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars from Turkey were evaluated for their antioxidant and cytotoxic effects on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines and MCF-10A breast fibrocystic epithelial cell lines with a focus on their chemical compositions by LC-MS/MS. Cell lines were treated with pomegranate juice extracts in different doses at selected time intervals (24th, 48th, and 72nd hour). Afterwards, WST-1 cell proliferation assay was performed to investigate the cytotoxicity of the extracts. Accordingly, all extracts decreased the cell viability of MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines and had no cytotoxic effect on the cell viability of MCF-10A cell lines. Among eight extracts, P7 (Izmir 1513), which was rich in anthocyanins such as cyanidin chloride (69.76 ± 8.02 µg/g extract), cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (903.66 ± 101.89 µg/g extract), and punicalagin (992.09 ± 174.53 µg/g extract), was found to demonstrate the strongest cytotoxic activity on MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines by decreasing the cell viability in half at 24th hour with an IC50 value of 49.08 µg/ml. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Eight commercially valuable pomegranate (Punica granatum) cultivars from Turkey were examined. Pelargonidin, cyanidin, cyanidin-3-O-gl, callistephin, and delphinidin-3-O-gl were quantified. Two cultivars (P1 and P3) showed comparatively higher antioxidant effects. A cultivar (P7) showed strongest cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. The cultivars have potential to be used as natural antioxidant and anticancer agents.

Ameliorative effect of vanadium on oxidative stress in stomach tissue of diabetic rats.

Between their broad spectrum of action, vanadium compounds are shown to have insulin mimetic/enhancing effects. Increasing evidence in experimental and clinical studies suggests that oxidative stress plays a major role in the pathogenesis of diabetes and on the onset of diabetic complications. Thus, preventive therapy can alleviate the possible side effects of the disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of vanadyl sulfate supplementation on the antioxidant system in the stomach tissue of diabetic rats. Male Swiss albino rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: control; control+vanadyl sulfate; diabetic; diabetic+vanadyl sulfate. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ; 65 mg/kg body weight). Vanadyl sulfate (100 mg/kg body weight) was given daily by gavage for 60 days. At the last day of the experiment, stomach tissues were taken and homogenized to make a 10% (w/v) homogenate. Catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), myeloperoxidase (MPO), carbonic anhydrase (CA), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities were determined in the stomach tissue. CAT, SOD, GR, GPx, GST, CA, G6PD and LDH activities were increased in diabetic rats when compared to normal rats. Vanadium treatment significantly reduced the elevated activities of GR, GPx, GST compared with the diabetic group whereas the decreases in CAT, SOD, CA, G6PD and LDH activities were insignificant. No significant change was seen for MPO activity between the groups. It was concluded that vanadium could be used for its ameliorative effect against oxidative stress in diabetes.

Combined effects of collagen type I alpha1 (COL1A1) Sp1 polymorphism and osteoporosis risk factors on bone mineral density in Turkish postmenopausal women.

Identification of risk factors for osteoporosis has been essential for understanding the development of osteoporosis. The collagen type I alpha1 (COL1A1) gene is suggested to be implicated in reduced bone mineral density (BMD) in osteoporosis. In the present study, the investigation of the effects of Sp1 polymorphic variants of COL1A1 gene on BMD values, and the determination of the association between COL1A1 Sp1 gene variants and osteoporosis risk factors in the context of gene-environment interaction in Turkish postmenopausal women were aimed. For the detection of COL1A1 Sp1 polymorphism, PCR-RFLP techniques have been used. BMD for lumbar spine (L1-L4) and hip (femoral neck and total hip) was measured by DXA. This study was carried out using a sample of 254 postmenopausal women. We observed a trend decrease in BMD values in the subjects with "ss" genotype having lower BMD of lumbar spine, femoral neck and total hip than those with "SS" and "Ss" genotype, however the differences did not reach statistical significance (P>0.05). We also found that the frequencies of the BMD under mean values at the femoral neck (57.5%) and total hip (76.2%) increased considerably in the subjects carrying "Ss/ss" genotypes in combination of having family history of osteoporosis (61.5% for femoral neck) and smoking history (90.0% for total hip). This population-based study indicates that COL1A1 Sp1 polymorphism may contribute to the development of osteoporosis in combination of osteoporosis risk factors in Turkish postmenopausal women.