Texas A&M researchers investigate cancer-fighting properties of mango
“We wanted to investigate the anti-inflammatory and cell-toxicity properties of mango polyphenols on breast cancer and non-cancer cells,” said Dr. Susanne Talcott, director for research at the institute and assistant professor, nutrition and food science department, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
“We recently completed one in vitro study and one using mice to see if the polyphenols found in mango did, in fact, exhibit inflammation- and cancer-fighting properties.”
“It has been estimated that around 30 percent of cancers may be prevented with a healthy lifestyle and diet,” she noted.
“Based on this premise, we extracted mango polyphenols and tested their effects in vitro, or separate from their normal biological context, on commercially obtained non-cancer and cancer breast cells,” she said.
The mango used for the study, the Keitt variety of Mangifera indica, was provided by the National Mango Board, and polyphenolics were extracted from these.
Both non-cancer and cancer breast cells were treated with mango polyphenolics at different concentrations, and results were shown in Gallic acid equivalents per milliliter, or ug GAE/ml, of liquid sample.
The study showed that at 5 ug GAE/ml mango Keitt polyphenols decreased sample breast cancer cell proliferation by approximately 90 percent, and at the same concentration, decreased the proliferation of sample non-cancer cells by approximately 20 percent.
“These results of the study indicate that the cell-killing effects of mango polyphenols are specific to cancer cells, where inflammation was reduced in both cancer and non-cancer cells, seemingly through the involvement of miRNA-21 — short microRNA molecules associated with cancer,” Talcott said.
A second study by this research group using hairless mice showed mango polyphenols also suppressed cell proliferation in the breast cancer BT474 cell line and tumor growth in mice with human breast carcinoma cells transplanted into them.
“The earlier in vitro study and the study using the mice have moved us closer to determining whether mango polyphenols will have cancer-fighting effects on human beings,” Talcott said. “So far, the indications are positive, but a lot of work will have to be done to determine the actual concentration of mango metabolites in target tissues.”
Source: Agrilifetoday
