Citrus IntegroPectin bioconjugates induce apoptosis, decrease proliferation, reduce reactive oxygen species, alleviate mitochondrial oxidative stress, upregulate miR-146 expression and downregulate expression of Interleukin-8 in lung cancer cells

Tested on adenocarcinoma A549 cell line, IntegroPectin bioconjugates derived from the industrial processing waste of different organically grown Citrus fruits exert a pleiotropic activity in their anticancer mechanism by targeting different molecular pathways. This study shows that these novel bioconjugates induce apoptosis, decrease short-term proliferation response, reduce reactive oxygen species, alleviate mitochondrial oxidative stress, upregulate miR-146 expression and downregulate expression of Interleukin-8. Given the health beneficial properties of both citrus pectin and citrus flavonoids, and the frequency of lung cancer, said findings support urgent investigation of these new flavonoid-pectin conjugates in preclinical and clinical cancer treatment trials.