The cytotoxic effect of artificially digested buckwheat products on HT-29 colon cancer cells

Recently Europeans are showing a growing interest in healthy foods. In light of this fact, the aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of buckwheat products (groats, hull, and bran) after in vitro digestion in an artificial gastrointestinal tract on the inhibition of HT-29 cancer cell proliferation. We investigated the content of individual flavonoids, phenolic acids, amino acids, and thiamine in these buckwheat products. The MTT (thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide) assay was used to evaluate the viability and metabolic activity of the colon cancer cells. We found significant (p < 0.05) negative correlations between HT-29 cell growth and the levels of catechin, quercetin, serine, proline, glycine, histidine and arginine in buckwheat samples after digestion. Our results highlight that buckwheat by-products are a rich source of bioactive substances such as: quercetin, catechin, serine, proline, glycine, histidine, and arginine. Therefore, buckwheat can be used as an additive in pro-health foods.