Preliminary Assessment of the Protective and Antitumor Effects of Several Phytoene-Containing Bacterial and Microalgal Extracts in Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

The identification of new functional food constituents is a priority to improve the prognosis and prevention of colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, several bacterial and algal phytoene-enriched extracts were obtained, and their potential activity against oxidative damage and their ability to inhibit proliferation and cell migration in several human colon-adenocarcinoma-derived cell lines were assessed. The main conclusions indicate that total extracts of Sphingomonas echinoides and Chlorella sorokiniana exhibited the highest protective effect against oxidative damage. All extracts enhanced the activity of detoxifying enzymes, particularly importantly the increase of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase activity, which reached a value 40% higher than that of untreated control cells upon exposure to Escherichia coli extracts. Staphylococcus haemolyticus and transgenic E. coli extracts significantly arrested the migration capacity of both cell lines, while S. haemolyticus and C. sorokiniana extracts inhibited cell proliferation by 15 to 20% compared to untreated cells. These results point to these extracts as potential antioxidant complements able to protect cells against oxidative damage and with a moderate ability to inhibit the proliferation and migration of CRC tumor cells, paving the way to design functional foods or probiotic formulations with preventive properties against oxidative stress-related diseases, such as cancer, or as starting point for purifying anticancer compounds.