Antiradical Capacity and Induction of Apoptosis on HeLa Cells by a Phaseolus vulgaris Extract

• Published in: Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht) 2008-03, Vol.63 (1), p.35-40
• Main Authors: Aparicio-Fernández, Xochitl, Reynoso-Camacho, Rosalia, Castaño-Tostado, Eduardo, García-Gasca, Teresa, González de Mejía, Elvira, Guzmán-Maldonado, S. Horacio, Elizondo, Guillermo, Yousef, Gad Gabra, Lila, Mary Ann, Loarca-Pina, Guadalupe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antiradical capacity; apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Biphenyl Compounds; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemistry/Food Science; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Ecology; Food industries; Food Science; Free Radical Scavengers; Fruit and vegetable industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; HeLa Cells; Humans; Hydrazines; Nutrition; Original Paper; Phaseolus - chemistry; Phaseolus vulgaris L; phenolic compounds; Picrates; Plant Extracts - analysis; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Physiology; Proanthocyanidins - analysis; Proanthocyanidins - pharmacology
• ISSN: 0921-9668; 1573-9104
• DOI: 10.1007/s11130-007-0066-4

Jamapa bean is a black Phaseolus vulgaris variety rich in condensed tannins, anthocyanins and flavonols with interesting biological activities. The objective of this work was to evaluate the antiradical capacity (ARC) of a Jamapa bean methanolic extract (BME) and some of the proanthocyanidin-rich fractions derived from it, using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The effect of the BME on some proteins involved in apoptosis on HeLa cells was also evaluated. A strong correlation between proanthocyanidin concentration in BME and antiradical capacity was found, suggesting that these compounds contribute significantly to antiradical activity. BME was a better radical scavenger than butylated hydroxytoluene (45.6 and 33.9% ARC at 400 μM, respectively). Two proanthocyanidin-rich fractions obtained after a preliminary separation of the BME using Toyopearl (TP4 and TP6) exhibited a higher antiradical activity than the parent extract. The treatment of HeLa cells with 35 μg BME/ml/24 h increased the expression of Bax and Caspase-3, pro-apoptotic proteins (6.13 and 1.2 times for Caspase-3 and Bax, respectively). The mechanism of action of some proteins involved in apoptosis was also evaluated, and the results suggest that black Jamapa bean could be an important source of polyphenolic compounds with potential biological use as antioxidant and anticancer agents.