Effect of hydrolysable tannins on proliferation of small intestinal porcine and human enterocytes

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the concentration dependent impact of chestnut and oak extracts with high concentration of hydrolysable tannins on the growth of animal and human small intestinal enterocyte cell lines.In our study, four tannin extracts from oak and sweet chestnut were used (GALLIC ACID, FARMATAN, CONTAN, TANEX). Tannins were tested on normal porcine small intestinal cell lines (PSI, IPEC-J2, CLAB), human normal (H4) and human cancerogenic (Caco-2) cell line. Proliferation of cells was followed in 96-well plate by colony count assay. In this assay, a small number of cells was initially seeded into wells and growth of cell colonies in the presence of tannins supplemented in a wide range of concentrations (0.5 μg/mL–500.0 μg/mL) was followed up to 5 days. Experiments were stopped before cell colonies started to fuse and counted using the microscope. Colony count served as an indicator for comparison between control and assay experiments. GALLIC ACID was very effective at growth inhibition of cancerogenic Caco-2 cells. Inhibition up to 20% was observed in the concentration interval 0.98 to 31.25 μg/mL. FARMATAN accelerated proliferation of IPEC-J2 and Caco-2 cell lines up to 31.25 μg/mL. CONTAN was most potent in promoting growth of IPEC-J2 in the range of 1–62.5 μg/mL. In contrast, in a range between 1–62.5 μg/mL TANEX accelerated growth of human normal cell line H4, while having little effects on other cell lines. The obtained results suggest potentially beneficial use of chestnut and oak extract in the diet of humans and animals. In lower concentrations tannins could be used for the purpose of accelerated recovery of small intestinal epithelium, but further research is needed for elucidation of the mechanisms responsible for the observed effects on cell proliferation.