The biological activity of an in vitro digested infusion of Epilobium angustifolium (fireweed) was examined in a model system of intestinal epithelial and colon cancer tissues. The content of selected phenolic compounds in the digested aqueous extract of fireweed was determined using HPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS. Biological activity was examined using the human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines HT-29 and CaCo-2 and the human colon epithelial cell line CCD 841 CoTr. Cytotoxicity was assessed by an MTT assay, a Neutral Red uptake assay, May-Grünwald-Giemsa staining, and a label-free Electric Cell-Substrate Impedance Sensing cytotoxicity assay. The effect of the infusion on the growth of selected intestinal bacteria was also examined. The extract inhibited the growth of intestinal cancer cells HT-29. This effect can be attributed to the activity of quercetin and kaempferol, which were the most abundant phenolic compounds found in the extract after in vitro digestion. The cytotoxicity of the fireweed infusion was dose-dependent. The highest decrease in proliferation (by almost 80%) compared to the control was observed in HT-29 line treated with the extract at a concentration of 250 μg/mL. The fireweed infusion did not affect the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria, but it did significantly inhibit E. coli. The cytotoxic effect of the fireweed extract indicates that it does not lose its biological activity after in vitro digestion. It can be concluded that the fireweed infusion has the potential to be used as a supporting agent in colon cancer therapy.

Introduction: Metastasis is defined as the ability of cancer cells to migrate from the site of primary tumour growth to a distant location. The metastatic tumour is usually more lethal than the initial primary cancer which is the reason for the metastatic cancer being more lethal. This cancer...

Colorectal cancer is a diet-related cancer. There is much research into the effects of nutrients on the prevention, modulation, and treatment of colorectal cancer. Researchers are trying to find a correlation between epidemiological observations indicating certain dietary components as the originator in the process of developing colorectal cancer, such as a diet rich in saturated animal fats, and dietary components that could eliminate the impact of harmful elements of the daily nutritional routine, i.e., substances such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, curcumin, or resveratrol. Nevertheless, it is very important to understand the mechanisms underlying how food works on cancer cells. In this case, microRNA (miRNA) seems to be a very significant research target. MiRNAs participate in many biological processes connected to carcinogenesis, progression, and metastasis. However, this is a field with development prospects ahead. In this paper, we review the most significant and well-studied food ingredients and their effects on various miRNAs involved in colorectal cancer.

The increase in the incidence of cancer has contributed to the search for new therapeutic methods. In recent years, the use of preparations of natural origin from medical fungi has increased. One such active substance is the extracellular, low molecular active fraction obtained from the medicinal fungus Cerrena unicolor. This study aimed to monitor the pharmacokinetics of different concentrations of substances isolated from the medicinal fungus Cerrena unicolor (ex-LMS) using the ECIS technique. In the study, mouse L929 fibroblasts and colon cancer CT26 cell lines were treated with different concentrations of the active fractions obtained from Cerrena unicolor: C1 = 2.285 (μg/mL); C2 = 22.85 (μg/mL); and C3 = 228.5 (μg/mL). This study demonstrated that the tested preparation from Cerrena unicolor had no considerable effect on the resistance, capacitance, and impedance of L929 fibroblast cells, which was an indicator of no significant effect on its physiological processes. At the same time, those parameters exhibited a decrease in colon cancer cell viability. Following our previous and current studies on Cerrena unicolor, ex-LMS extracts can be safely used in anticancer therapy or chemoprevention with no significant harmful effects on normal cells.

The article presents the construction and technology of comb capacitors on a polycarbonate substrates. The structures have been designed to be used in the ECIS measurement system that allows monitoring the activity of the examined cells by analyzing the changing electrical parameters impedance, resistance and capacitance in real time. The copper layer was embedded by sputtering method. The resulting comb capacitors were used in a test sample of substances with different chemical properties.