Abstract 4619: Chemopreventive activities of the dark-color fruit ‘jamun’, the Indian blackberry

Abstract

Abstract Colored fruits, particularly berries, are emerging as highly chemoprotective because of their antioxidant, anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, we investigated the chemoprotective potential of Eugenia jambolana Lam., commonly known as ‘jamun’ or Indian blackberry. Jamun, a widely available fruit in India and other Asian countries, has also been used in the treatment of various ailments, including diabetes mellitus. To determine its antioxidant potential, jamun pulp was collected from freshly harvested fruits, dried, and the powder was extracted with acidic ethanol, and enriched by amberlite XAD7/HP20 (1:1) column chromatography. The pulp powder was found to contain 0.54% anthocyanins, 0.17% ellagic acid/ellagitannins and 1.15% total phenolics using standard assays. HPLC analysis of acid-hydrolyzed extract showed the presence of five anthocyanidins – malvidin, petunidin, delphinidin, cyanidin and peonidin. The unhydrolyzed extract was found to have significant antioxidant activity as reflected by high ORAC value (1,445±64 μmol of TE/g) as well as high ABTS- and DPPH-scavenging activities, and ferrous ions-chelating activity; the acid-hydrolyzed extract showed higher activity than unhydrolyzed extract. Since some of the jamun bioactives (ellagitannins and anthocyanidins/anthocyanins) have significant antiproliferative activity, we also analyzed these extracts for their antiproliferative potential using MTT assay against human lung cancer A549 cells in cell culture. The hydrolyzed jamun extract showed significant antiproliferative activity (IC50=79 µg/mL). However, unhydrolyzed extract showed almost no activity. These data suggest that the antiproliferative activity may result from anthocyanidins (present in the hydrolyzed extract) rather than anthocyanins (present in unhydrolyzed extract). Together, our data show high antioxidant, and antiproliferative activities in jamun pulp and may be a viable candidate for chemoprevention of lung cancer (Supported from Agnes Brown Duggan Endowment). Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4619. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4619