Antioxidant and in vitro anticancer activities of phenolics isolated from sugar beet molasses

BACKGROUND: In the present study, the phenolic compounds were prepared using ultrasonic-aid extraction from sugar beet molasses (SBM). METHODS: Gallic acid (GA), cyanidin-3-O-glucoside chloride (CGC) and epicatechin (EP) were produced after column chromatography from the extraction, and further detected using NMR, QTOF-MS and ESI-MS/MS. RESULTS: The three compounds exhibited strong antioxidant activities including DPPH radical scavenging activities, ABTS radical scavenging activities and ORAC values. GA showed the strongest antioxidant activity. Antitumor activities significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner. In particular, the CGC had growth inhibitory activities of 94.86, 87.27 and 67.13% against the human colon (CACO-2), hepatocellular (HepG2) and breast (MCF-7) carcinoma cell lines, respectively, at the highest concentration of 400 μg/mL of the extracts. These results suggest that the three compounds are key chemical compositions valuable for preparing functional foods in the food industry. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that SBM is a natural source of antioxidant and antitumor agents for preparing functional foods.