In this study, a hydroalcoholic chestnut shell extract was characterized and tested on six different human cell lines. Gallic, ellagic, and syringic acids were the most abundant non-condensed compounds in the chestnut extract, as determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Tannins were mainly represented by condensed monomeric units of epigallocatechin and catechin/epicatechin. After 48 h of treatment, only the human hepatoblastoma HepG2 cells reached an inhibition corresponding to IC50 with an increase of apoptosis and mitochondrial depolarization. The cytokinome evaluation before and after treatment revealed that the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α decreased after the treatment, suggesting a potential anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory effect of this extract. Moreover, the metabolome evaluation by ¹H-NMR evidenced that the polyphenols extracted from chestnut shell (PECS) treatment affected the levels of some amino acids and other metabolites. Overall, these data highlight the effects of biomolecules on cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle and mitochondrial depolarization, and on cytokinomics and metabolomics profiles.
Keywords: cancer; chestnut shells extract; polyphenols.