Sorghum Phenolic Compounds Are Associated with Cell Growth Inhibition through Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in Human Hepatocarcinoma and Colorectal Adenocarcinoma Cells

Abstract

Phenolic compounds in some specialty sorghums have been associated with cancer prevention. However, direct evidence and the underlying mechanisms for this are mostly unknown. In this study, phenolics were extracted from 13 selected sorghum accessions with black pericarp while F10000 hybrid with white pericarp was used as a control, and cell growth inhibition was studied in hepatocarcinoma HepG2 and colorectal adenocarcinoma Caco-2 cells. Total phenolic contents of the 13 high phenolic grains, as determined by Folin–Ciocalteu, were 30–64 mg GAE/g DW in the phenolic extracts of various accessions compared with the control F10000 at 2 mg GAE/g DW. Treatment of HepG2 with the extracted phenolics at 0–200 μM GAE up to 72 h resulted in a dose- and time-dependent reduction in cell numbers. The values of IC50 varied from 85 to 221 mg DW/mL while the control of F10000 was 1275 mg DW/mL. The underlying mechanisms were further examined using the highest phenolic content of PI329694 and the lowest IC50 of PI570481, resulting in a non-cytotoxic decrease in cell number that was significantly correlated with increased cell cycle arrest at G2/M and apoptotic cells in both HepG2 and Caco-2 cells. Taken together, these results indicated, for the first time, that inhibition of either HepG2 or Caco-2 cell growth by phenolic extracts from 13 selected sorghum accessions was due to cytostatic and apoptotic but not cytotoxic mechanisms, suggesting some specialty sorghums are a valuable, functional food, providing sustainable phenolics for potential cancer prevention.