biostudies-literatureUnknown10(9)Qin XThe antitumor effects of <i>Lycium ruthenicum</i> Murr. polysaccharides (LRPS) and <i>Lycium ruthenicum</i> Murr. anthocyanins (LRAC) were comprehensively investigated in this study. LPRS was obtained by water extraction and alcohol precipitation and further purified using diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE-Cellulose) and Sephadex G-75 columns. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the purified LRPS. The results showed that the purified LRPS contained heteropolysaccharides, mainly composed of arabinose, galactose, and glucose with weight percentage of 41.2%, 33.6%, and 10.8%, respectively. More importantly, LRPS (500 μg/ml) and LRAC (80 μg/ml) failed to impede the proliferation of tumor cells when applied solely (48 h incubation), yet remarkable antineoplastic effects were found once they were applied altogether, since the LoVo cells, a typical human colorectal carcinoma cell line, were significantly inhibited by the mixture of LRPS (150 μg/ml) and LRAC (20 μg/ml) (LRPS&AC) in 24 h. The antineoplastic activity resulted from the combination of both LRPS and LRAC (LRPS&AC), by means of blocking the cell cycle at the G0-G1 phase and inducing LoVo cell apoptosis via reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent pathway. The inhibitory effects of LRPS&AC were specific to the tumor cells, without imposing on the proliferation of normal cells. Western blotting revealed that the antitumor effect was related to the mitochondria-mediated apoptosis launched by the cross-action of PI3K/Akt (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B) and JAK2/STAT3 (janus kinase 2/signal transduction and activator of transcription 3) signaling pathways. These findings for the first time reveal the synergistic antitumor effects of LRPS&AC and the related mechanisms, which enable <i>Lycium ruthenicum</i> Murr. to serve as a natural source to develop therapeutic reagents and functional foods with antineoplastic properties.Food science & nutrition2956-2968https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9469862biostudies-literatureSynergistic antitumor effects of polysaccharides and anthocyanins from <i>Lycium ruthenicum</i> Murr. on human colorectal carcinoma LoVo cells and the molecular mechanism.PMC9469862Yang XXu KWang QLi SGuo XQin XWang XLiu CLi LSun JfalseSynergistic antitumor effects of polysaccharides and anthocyanins from <i>Lycium ruthenicum</i> Murr. on human colorectal carcinoma LoVo cells and the molecular mechanism.The antitumor effects of <i>Lycium ruthenicum</i> Murr. polysaccharides (LRPS) and <i>Lycium ruthenicum</i> Murr. anthocyanins (LRAC) were comprehensively investigated in this study. LPRS was obtained by water extraction and alcohol precipitation and further purified using diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE-Cellulose) and Sephadex G-75 columns. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the purified LRPS. The results showed that the purified LRPS contained heteropolysaccharides, mainly composed of arabinose, galactose, and glucose with weight percentage of 41.2%, 33.6%, and 10.8%, respectively. More importantly, LRPS (500 μg/ml) and LRAC (80 μg/ml) failed to impede the proliferation of tumor cells when applied solely (48 h incubation), yet remarkable antineoplastic effects were found once they were applied altogether, since the LoVo cells, a typical human colorectal carcinoma cell line, were significantly inhibited by the mixture of LRPS (150 μg/ml) and LRAC (20 μg/ml) (LRPS&AC) in 24 h. The antineoplastic activity resulted from the combination of both LRPS and LRAC (LRPS&AC), by means of blocking the cell cycle at the G0-G1 phase and inducing LoVo cell apoptosis via reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent pathway. The inhibitory effects of LRPS&AC were specific to the tumor cells, without imposing on the proliferation of normal cells. Western blotting revealed that the antitumor effect was related to the mitochondria-mediated apoptosis launched by the cross-action of PI3K/Akt (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B) and JAK2/STAT3 (janus kinase 2/signal transduction and activator of transcription 3) signaling pathways. These findings for the first time reveal the synergistic antitumor effects of LRPS&AC and the related mechanisms, which enable <i>Lycium ruthenicum</i> Murr. to serve as a natural source to develop therapeutic reagents and functional foods with antineoplastic properties.2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Sep2025-04-22T06:24:19.427Z2025-04-05T21:41:40.521ZS-EPMC94698623617178810.1002/fsn3.2892