Antioxidant and Anticancer Potential of Date Seed Extracts in Colon Cancer Cells (HT-29 Cells): From By-Product to Bioactive

Abstract

Due to their antioxidant qualities, date seeds ( Phoenix dactylifera ) are a prospective source of bioactive chemicals, especially flavonoids and phenolics. The cytotoxic and antioxidant effects on HT-29 colon cancer cells were investigated in this research. For 24 hours, HT-29 colon cancer cells were exposed to extract at different doses (125, 250, 500, and 1000 μg/ml) of date seed extracts. As a measure of cytotoxicity, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release was assessed. The MTT test was used to determine cell viability, and standard kits were used to measure the levels of glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) to evaluate the antioxidant response of the cells. The MTT assay showed that cell viability decreased as extract concentration increased, reaching 82% at 125 μg/ml and 62% at 1000 μg/ml. Higher extract concentrations resulted in higher LDH release, which showed enhanced cytotoxicity from 11.11% at 125 μg to 30.06% at 1000 μg/ml. At higher concentrations (1000 μg/ml), SOD activity increased considerably (p ≤ 0.05) to 38.9 U/mg protein. GSH increased from 5.62 μM to 41.14 μM, and as concentrations increased, so did CAT activity. The findings showed that date seed extracts had dose-dependent cytotoxic effects on HT-29 colon cancer cells and strong antioxidant activity. The potential of date seeds as a functional food in cancer prevention and management is highlighted by increased cytotoxicity, which points to a preventive mechanism against cancer.