Antiproliferative Effect of Amaranth Proteins and Peptides on HT-29 Human Colon Tumor Cell Line.

Antiproliferative effect of Amaranthus mantegazzianus proteins and peptides released after simulated gastrointestinal digestion (DH% 37.8 ± 3.8) was investigated on human colon cancer cell line HT-29. Inhibition of proliferation of HT-29 cells was exhibited after a 24 h treatment with different concentrations of amaranth protein isolate (API) and the peptides released after digestion (DGS), presenting IC50 values of 1.35 ± 0.12 and 0.30 ± 0.07 mg soluble protein/mL, respectively. Lactate dehydrogenase assay indicated that both samples caused the loss of membrane integrity and cell lysis over HT-29 cells, and DAPI fluorescence microscopies evidenced typical apoptotic features. Moreover, Annexin V-FITC flow cytometry showed a significant increase of early apoptotic and late apoptotic/necrotic HT-29 cells compared to untreated ones, and caspase-3 assay confirmed the apoptosis induction with a 43.0 ± 10.3 and 65.8 ± 12.7% increase of caspase-3 activity produced by a 2 mg/mL treatment of API and DGS, respectively. In conclusion, amaranth peptides successfully released after simulated gastrointestinal digestion would exert a potential antiproliferative activity over HT-29 tumor cells. This effect was linked to the induction of cell necrosis and apoptosis, supporting the idea of using amaranth proteins as a potential food alternative ingredient for functional foods.

Effects of high hydrostatic pressure on emulsifying properties of sweet potato protein in model protein-hydrocolloids system.

The effects of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on emulsifying properties of sweet potato protein (SPP) in presence of 0.1%, 0.3% and 0.5% (w/v) of guar gum (GG) and glycerol monostearate (GMS) were investigated. Emulsifying stability index (ESI) of the SPP with GG revealed significant increase (P<0.05) in ESI value at 600MPa treatment, while the stability of SPP-GMS emulsions significantly decreased with increase in GMS concentrations and HHP treatments (200-600MPa). HHP treatment considerably reduced the creaming rate for SPP-GG model while such case was not observed for SPP-GMS model. The flow index for SPP-GG emulsion model was found to decrease with increase in HHP treatment and had non-Newtonian behaviour. The SPP-GMS emulsion models with HHP treatments showed comparatively lower viscosities but had more Newtonian flow character.