Effect of dark-colored maple syrup on cell proliferation of human gastrointestinal cancer cell

Abstract

Maple syrup is a natural sweetener that is commonly consumed worldwide. While maple syrup mainly comprises sucrose, it also contains phytochemicals that present various biological effects. Maple syrup is made by boiling down sap, and its color and composition vary in accordance with the sap collection season. Typically, seasonal progression is associated with darker syrup color, and antioxidant activity is proportional to the increasingly dark color. The authors previously reported that maple syrup demonstrated inhibitory effects on colorectal cancer cell growth and invasion, which correlated with darker maple syrup color. In the present study, they examined the effects of two different grades of maple syrup on gastrointestinal cancer cell proliferation, to investigate whether the dark-color maple syrup was suitable as a phytomedicine for gastrointestinal cancer treatment. Administration of dark-color maple syrup significantly inhibited gastrointestinal cancer cell growth as compared to non-treated cancer cells. Moreover, administration of dark-color maple syrup clearly inhibited protein kinase B (AKT) phosphorylation and did not impact mitogen-associated protein kinase phosphorylation. These data suggested that dark-color maple syrup may inhibit cell proliferation through suppression of AKT activation and, thus, may be suitable as a phytomedicine for gastrointestinal cancer treatment.

Dark‑colored maple syrup treatment induces S‑phase cell cycle arrest via reduced proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression in colorectal cancer cells

“…In our previous study of the anticancer effects of different grades of maple syrup, it was reported that dark-colored maple syrup reduced AKT, also termed protein kinase B, activation, and therefore significantly inhibited proliferation and invasion in CRC cells (30). In addition, another previous study showed that it significantly inhibited growth in other types of gastrointestinal cancer cell (31). This suggests that dark-colored maple syrup may be a useful dietary factor for potentially preventing cancer progression.…”

Identification of a Novel Oligosaccharide in Maple Syrup as a Potential Alternative Saccharide for Diabetes Mellitus Patients

“…Maple syrup is a popular natural sweetener that is consumed worldwide. Although sucrose constitutes ~60% of maple syrup, it also contains smaller concentrations of glucose and fructose [4,5,6,7,8]. However, Taga et al has shown that maple syrup contains rare reducing carbohydrates such as xylose, arabinose, ribose, and mannose, using capillary electrophoresis (CE) analysis of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) derivatives [9].…”

Separation of Fructosyl Oligosaccharides in Maple Syrup by Using Charged Aerosol Detection

“…As the season progresses, maple syrup’s color darkens, and it is classified into four grades: golden, amber, dark, and very dark [ 1 ]. Maple syrup has various biological effects, and it has also been reported that different grades of maple syrup could have different biological effects [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Although maple syrup has a low glycemic index (GI), it is mostly sucrose with a small amount of glucose and fructose [ 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

“…Maple syrup has various biological effects, and it has also been reported that different grades of maple syrup could have different biological effects [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Although maple syrup has a low glycemic index (GI), it is mostly sucrose with a small amount of glucose and fructose [ 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. It was reported that maple syrup contains pentoses, such as xylose, arabinose, and ribose, and polysaccharides, such as inulin [ 10 , 11 ].…”