In vitro anticancer and antioxidant potential of Amaranthus cruentus protein and its hydrolysates

New insights on the use of peptides as therapeutic agents in the treatment of cancer have emerged with reports showing anti-tumour activity of peptides, predominantly derived from animals or microorganisms. Amaranth is a pseudocereal traditionally acknowledged to possess pharmacotherapeutic properties. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the in vitro anti-cancer effect of amaranth protein hydrolysates (alcalase, trypsin, and pepsin). Protein hydrolysates were tested for their antioxidant activity together with the anticancer and apoptotic potential. Antioxidants results revealed hydrolysates to have a greater antioxidant effect than un-hydrolysed protein, with results exceeding that of controls. The MTT cytotoxicity assay conducted on MCF-7, A549 and HEK 293 cell lines showed the trypsin hydrolysate to exhibit a preeminent anti-cancer effect. Annexin V-FITC flow cytometry showed an increased number of early apoptotic and late necrotic cells compared to untreated cells, further validated by caspase 3/7 activity. These assays confirmed the induction of apoptosis of the trypsin hydrolysate thereby demonstrating that the hydrolysate can be used as a potential therapeutic against selected cancers.