Inducing apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines via Nrf2/HO-1 signalling pathway of blueberry and blackcurrant powder manipulated oat bran paste extracts

In this study, oat bran was enriched with blackcurrant and blueberry powder to form the oat bran paste separately. The paste extracts were used to investigate their effects on anticancer bioactivity towards hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Results showed 25% of berry powder-enriched paste extracts significantly inhibited the growth and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Blackcurrant-enriched paste extract exhibited a better anticancer property than that of blueberry-enriched paste extract. Mechanistic studies suggested that the berry powder-enriched paste extracts induced cell apoptosis, being initiated through cell cycle arrest and regulating apoptotic-related protein expressions. Reactive oxygen species levels of hepatocellular carcinoma cells increased via regulating nuclear factor-like 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase 1 (HO1) signalling pathway. These findings confirmed the therapeutic potential of the blueberry powder- and blackcurrant powder-enriched oat bran paste for patients with liver cancer.