Rejuvenis-Ellagic-Acid 69-millagram veggie-capsules

Plants produce ellagic acid and convert it to a form of tannin known as ellagitannins. Ellagic acid is a versatile antioxidant, found in certain fruits and nuts including grapes, strawberries, raspberries, pomegranate, Morinda citrifolia, Terminalia chebula and walnuts. These are glucosides, which are readily hydrolyzed by water to regenerate ellagic acid when the plants are eaten. Ellagic acid is a polyphenol antioxidant. The anti-proliferative and antioxidant properties of ellagic acid have spurred preliminary research into the potential health benefits of ellagic acid consumption. Ellagic acid is also a primary constituent of several tannin bearing plants which produce the category of tannins known as gallotannins. These, when hydrolyzed by water give rise to ellagic acid and gallic acid.

Ellagic acid has shown positive attributes in esophageal and colon cancer in animal studies. Human studies are limited but show ellagic acid to have some potential in its role in cancer treatment help.

It is well known that dietary phenolic compounds can elicit vital cellular responses such as cytotoxicity, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis by activating a cascade of molecular events. Ellagic acid is one of these phenolic compounds, but the exact mechanism of its action is still unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate ellagic acid-induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in T24 human bladder cancer cells in vitro. Assays were performed to determine cell viability, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, caspases-3 activity and gene expression, measured by flow cytometric assay, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and determination of caspase-3 activity. Ellagic acid significantly reduced the viable cells, induced G0/G1-phase arrest of the cell cycle and apoptosis.

Anticarcinogenic effects of polyphenolic compounds in fruits and vegetables are well established. Although polyphenols naturally occur as combinations, little information is available regarding possible synergistic or antagonistic biochemical interactions between compounds. Identifying potential interactions between polyphenols may provide information regarding the efficiency of polyphenol-containing foods in cancer prevention.

The potential cytotoxic and anti-proliferative activities of ellagic acid was evaluated using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), normal human lung fibroblast cells HEL 299, Caco-2 colon, MCF-7 breast, Hs 578T breast, and DU 145 human prostatic cancer cells. Ellagic acid at concentration in the range 10-100 micromol/L did not affect the viability of normal fibroblast cells during a 24-hour incubation. An increase in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence of approximately 18-21% was observed in normal cells incubated with ellagic acid. In contrast, ellagic acid at 1-100 micromol/L dose-dependently inhibited HUVEC tube formation and proliferation on a reconstituted extra-cellular matrix and showed strong anti-proliferative activity against the colon, breast, and prostatic cancer cell lines investigated. Ellagic acid induced cancer cell death by apoptosis. It was also observed that the mechanism of apoptosis induction in ellagic acid-treated cancer cells was associated with decreased ATP production, which is crucial for the viability of cancer cells.