Polyphenol Containing Sorghum Brans Exhibit an Anti-Cancer Effect in Apc Min/+ Mice Treated with Dextran Sodium Sulfate.

Colon cancer (CC) is considered a high-risk cancer in developed countries. Its etiology is correlated with a high consumption of red meat and low consumption of plant-based foods, including whole grains. Sorghum bran is rich in polyphenols. This study aimed to determine whether different high-phenolic sorghum brans suppress tumor formation in a genetic CC rodent model and elucidate mechanisms. Tissue culture experiments used colorectal cancer cell lines SW480, HCT-116 and Caco-2 and measured protein expression, and protein activity. The animal model used in this study was APC Min+/mouse model combined with dextram sodium sulfate. High phenolic sorghum bran extract treatment resulted in the inhibition of proliferation and induced apoptosis in CC cell lines. Treatment with high phenolic sorghum bran extracts repressed TNF-α-stimulated NF-κB transactivation and IGF-1-stimulated PI3K/AKT pathway via the downregulation of ß-catenin transactivation. Furthermore, high-phenolic sorghum bran extracts activated AMPK and autophagy. Feeding with high-phenolic sorghum bran for 6 weeks significantly suppressed tumor formation in an APC Min/+ dextran sodium sulfate promoted CC mouse model. Our data demonstrates the potential application of high-phenolic sorghum bran as a functional food for the prevention of CC.

Wheat bran particle size influence on phytochemical extractability and antioxidant properties.

It is unknown if particle size plays a role in extracting health promoting compounds in wheat bran because the extraction of antioxidant and phenolic compounds with particle size reduction has not been well documented. In this study, unmilled whole bran (coarse treatment) was compared to whole bran milled to medium and fine treatments from the same wheat bran. Antioxidant properties (capacity, ability, power), carotenoids and phenolic compounds (phenolic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins) were measured and compared. The ability of whole bran fractions of differing particle size distributions to inhibit free radicals was assessed using four in vitro models, namely, diphenylpicrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging activity, ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and total antioxidant capacity. Significant differences in phytochemical concentrations and antioxidant properties were observed between whole bran fractions of reduced particle size distribution for some assays. The coarse treatment exhibited significantly higher antioxidant properties compared to the fine treatment; except for the ORAC value, in which coarse was significantly lower. For soluble and bound extractions, the coarse treatment was comparatively higher in total antioxidant capacity (426.72 mg ascorbic acid eq./g) and FRAP value (53.04 µmol FeSO4/g) than bran milled to the finer treatment (314.55 ascorbic acid eq./g and 40.84 µmol FeSO4/g, respectively). Likewise, the fine treatment was higher in phenolic acid (7.36 mg FAE/g), flavonoid (206.74 µg catechin/g), anthocyanin (63.0 µg/g), and carotenoid contents (beta carotene, 14.25 µg/100 g; zeaxanthin, 35.21 µg/100 g; lutein 174.59 µg/100 g) as compared to the coarse treatment. An increase of surface area to mass increased the ORAC value by over 80%. With reduction in particle size, there was a significant increase in extracted anthocyanins, carotenoids and ORAC value. Particle size does effect the extraction of phytochemicals.

High-throughput micro plate assays for screening flavonoid content and DPPH-scavenging activity in sorghum bran and flour.

BACKGROUND: Sorghum possesses phenolic compounds that are health-promoting constituents of the grain. There are approximately 40 000 sorghum accessions, many of which have not been evaluated for the grain's health-promoting potential. Conventional methods for measuring total phenolic content, flavonoid content and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-scavenging capacity are time-consuming and labour-intensive, resulting in low overall throughput. The objective of this study was to develop a high-throughput screening assay for large sorghum sample sets to determine flavonoid and phenolic content and to modify existing DPPH and total phenolic assays. RESULTS: The 96-well assays exhibited a correlation of > 0.9 with the conventional assays. The 96-well assays allowed for up to 64 samples to be run per day compared with 20-24 samples (depending on the test) for the conventional methods. The 96-well assays had excellent accuracy (97.65-106.16% recovery), precision (1.06-8.28% coefficient of variation (CV)) and reproducibility (1.32-2.13% CV inter-day and 1.36-2.09% CV intra-day). CONCLUSION: The high-throughput 96-well plate method proved to be as robust and reproducible as the conventional method for determining total phenolic content, flavonoid content and DPPH-scavenging capacity in either sorghum bran or flour.

Vitamin and mineral supplements have a nutritionally significant impact on micronutrient intakes of older adults attending senior centers.

Older adults frequently report use of vitamin and mineral (VM) supplements, although the impact of supplements on dietary adequacy remains largely unknown. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate micronutrient intakes of older adults with emphasis on identifying nutrients most improved by VM supplements, nutrients most likely to remain inadequate, and nutrients most likely consumed in excess. Community-based volunteers were recruited from senior centers and completed a questionnaire querying demographic data, current health status, and VM supplement use. Participants (n = 263) were then contacted by telephone to complete two 24-hour diet recalls and confirm VM supplement use. Dietary adequacy was determined by comparing the ratio of mean dietary intake to the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI). Dietary consumption was lowest for vitamins D and E, calcium, and magnesium. VM supplementation most improved intakes of vitamins E, D, B(6), folic acid, and calcium. Participants were most likely to exceed the Tolerable Upper Limit with supplementation of niacin, folic acid, and vitamin A.