A novel protein extracted from foxtail millet bran displays anti-carcinogenic effects in human colon cancer cells

•A novel 35 kDa protein, named FMBP, is extracted from foxtail millet bran.•FMBP is highly homologous to peroxidase and possesses peroxidase activities.•FMBP exhibits anti-colon cancer effects, but has lower toxicity in normal cells.•FMBP inhibits cells proliferation in colon cancer by induction of G1 phase arrest.•FMBP induces caspase-dependent apoptosis in colon cancer cells.

Millet is an important cereal food and exhibits multiple biological activities, including immunodulatory, antioxidant, antifungal and anti-hyperglycemia effects. Herein, we describe a novel 35 kDa protein with anti-cancer properties, named FMBP, which was extracted and purified from foxtail millet bran by cell-based screening. FMBP is highly homologous to peroxidase as revealed by mass spectrometry and gene sequencing analysis. Furthermore, in vivo anti-tumor results implicated that the novel protein FMBP had the ability to suppress xenografted tumor growth in nude mice. Mechanistically, FMBP is able to suppress colon cancer cell growth through induction of G1 phase arrest and also causes a loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential which results in caspase-dependent apoptosis in colon cancer cells. Notably, FMBP has much lower toxicity in normal colon epithelial cells. Taken together, FMBP has targeted anti-colon cancer effects and may serve as a therapeutic agent against colon cancer.

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