Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jun 28;15(7):806.
doi: 10.3390/ph15070806.

In the Search for Novel, Isoflavone-Rich Functional Foods-Comparative Studies of Four Clover Species Sprouts and Their Chemopreventive Potential for Breast and Prostate Cancer

Agnieszka Galanty  1 , Monika Niepsuj  1 , Marta Grudzińska  1 , Paweł Zagrodzki  2 , Irma Podolak  1 , Paweł Paśko  2
Affiliations

In the Search for Novel, Isoflavone-Rich Functional Foods-Comparative Studies of Four Clover Species Sprouts and Their Chemopreventive Potential for Breast and Prostate Cancer

Agnieszka Galanty et al. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). .

Abstract

Despite a significant amount of research, the relationship between a diet rich in isoflavones and breast and prostate cancer risk is still ambiguous. The purpose of the current study was to pre-select the potential candidate for functional foods among red, white, crimson, and Persian clover sprouts, cultured for different periods of time (up to 10 days), with respect to the isoflavone content (determined by HPLC-UV-VIS), and to verify their impact on hormone-dependent cancers in vitro. The red clover sprouts were the richest in isoflavones (up to 426.2 mg/100 g dw), whereas the lowest content was observed for the crimson clover. Each species produced isoflavones in different patterns, which refer to the germination time. Hormone-insensitive MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were more resistant to the tested extracts than estrogen-dependent MCF7 breast cancer cells. Regarding prostate cancer, androgen-dependent LNCap cells were most susceptible to the tested sprouts, followed by androgen-insensitive, high metastatic PC3, and low metastatic DU145 cells. The observed cytotoxic impact of the tested sprouts is not associated with isoflavone content, as confirmed by chemometric analysis. Furthermore, the sprouts tested revealed a high antioxidant potential, and were characterized by high safety for normal breast and prostate cells.

Keywords: Trifolium; breast cancer; clover sprouts; cytotoxic; isoflavones; prostate cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cumulation dynamics of isoflavones sum in red (RC), white (WC), Persian (PC), and crimson (CC) clover sprouts harvested for 3, 5, 7, and 10 days.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cytotoxic effect of the extracts of red (RC), white (WC), Persian (PC), and crimson (CC) clover seeds (S) and sprouts harvested for 3, 5, 7, and 10 days to breast normal (MCF10A) and cancer (MCF7, MDA-MB-231) cells. Cells were treated with 500 µg/mL of sprout extracts (n = 3) for 24 h. Values are presented as the mean ± SD (standard deviation). Significant differences are shown in Table S2.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cytotoxic effect of the extracts of red (RC), white (WC), Persian (PC), and crimson (CC) clover seeds (S) and sprouts harvested for 3, 5, 7, and 10 days to prostate normal (PNT2) and cancer (DU145, PC3, LNCaP) cells. Cells were treated with 500 µg/mL of sprout extracts (n = 3) for 24 h. Values are presented as the mean ± SD (standard deviation). Significant differences are shown in Table S3.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The variable loadings on the first and second principal components in the PCA model.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The projection of various species of clover sprouts into the space defined by the first two principal components of the PCA model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Grela E.R., Kiczorowska B., Samolińska W., Matras J., Kiczorowski P., Rybiński W., Hanczakowska E. Chemical composition of leguminous seeds: Part I—content of basic nutrients, amino acids, phytochemical compounds, and antioxidant activity. Eur. Food Res. Technol. 2017;243:1385–1395. doi: 10.1007/s00217-017-2849-7. - DOI
    1. Basu P., Maier C. Phytoestrogens and breast cancer: In vitro anticancer activities of isoflavones, lignans, coumestans, stilbenes and their analogs and derivatives. Biomed. Pharmacother. 2018;107:1648–1666. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.08.100. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hajirahimkhan A., Dietz B.M., Bolton J.L. Botanical Modulation of Menopausal Symptoms: Mechanisms of Action? Planta Med. 2013;79:538–553. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-1328187. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lecomte S., Demay F., Ferrière F., Pakdel F. Phytochemicals Targeting Estrogen Receptors: Beneficial Rather Than Adverse Effects? Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017;18:1381. doi: 10.3390/ijms18071381. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sivoňová M.K., Kaplán P., Tatarková Z., Lichardusová L., Dušenka R., Jurečeková J. Androgen receptor and soy isoflavones in prostate cancer. Mol. Clin. Oncol. 2019;10:191–204. doi: 10.3892/mco.2018.1792. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources