Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
FEBS OPEN BIO, sa.15, ss.161, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
The aim of this study was to evaluate the compositional changes and bioaccessibility of phenolics and antioxidants in pollen during in vitro digestion, as well as the cytotoxic effects of digested pollen on various cancer cell lines. Three pollen samples from Bayburt (B1-3), Burdur (ME2-3) and Aydın (A2-2) were subjected to in vitro oral, gastric and intestinal digestion. Both digested and undigested samples were analyzed for total phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant activities. The cytotoxic effects of the digested samples were evaluated on lung (A549, H1299), skin (A431), liver (Hep-G2) and colon (Caco-2) cancer cells as well as fibroblast (Bj) cells. All three pollen samples were found to have total phenolic (~2500±300 mg GAE/100 g) and f lavonoid (~400±35 mg QE/100 g) contents before digestion. After digestion, these contents changed and ME2-3 pollen had the highest content of phenolic and flavanoid compounds. TEAC and CUPRAC antioxidant results ranged between 128.97-143.28 and 54.83-76.76 μmol TE/g, respectively. The release of pcoumaric, gallic, trans cinnamic acids and rutin increased gradually from the oral to the intestinal stage [previously published in: Mutlu C and Erbas M. (2023) Food BioSci 53, 102805]. The cytotoxic effects of the samples on cell lines were ranked as A549>Caco-2>BJ>A431>H1299>Hep-G2 according to IC50 results. Pollen has been recognized as a natural medicine for centuries and numerous studies have investigated its bioactive components. However, no previous study has examined changes in the phenolic composition of pollen samples during digestion or its cytotoxic effects on cancer cells. Therefore, this study provides a new perspective and approach to the literature on this subject. Acknowledgment: The authors would like to thank the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Tu¨ rkiye (TUBITAK, project number: 116O711) for supporting this research.