@article{TEXTUAL,
      recid = {13432},
      author = {Luo, Yun and Wang, Chong-Zhi and Sawadogo, Richard and  Yuan, Jinbin and Zeng, Jinxiang and Xu, Ming and Tan, Ting  and Yuan, Chun-Su},
      title = {4-Vinylguaiacol, an Active Metabolite of Ferulic Acid by  Enteric Microbiota and Probiotics, Possesses Significant  Activities against Drug-Resistant Human Colorectal Cancer  Cells},
      journal = {ACS Omega},
      address = {2021-02-10},
      number = {TEXTUAL},
      abstract = {Ferulic acid, a hydroxycinnamic acid, is abundant in  vegetables, grains, and medicinal plants. Emerging evidence  suggests that ferulic acid may exert beneficial effects  against colorectal cancer. However, the anticancer activity  of ferulic acid is relatively low, and its metabolism after  oral administration is largely unknown. In this study,  mimicking the enteric environment, human intestinal  microflora and commercial probiotics were used to  metabolize ferulic acid to its metabolites, and their  anticancer activities were evaluated. Ferulic acid can be  biotransformed to 4-vinylguaiacol  (2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol), and the contents of ferulic acid  and 4-vinylguaiacol in bio-transformed extracts were  determined by high-performance liquid chromatography  (HPLC). Using the chemotherapy-sensitive cell line HCT-116  and the chemo-resistant cell line HT-29, the cell  proliferation was determined by the modified trichrome  stain assay. The cell cycle and induction of apoptosis were  assayed using flow cytometry. HPLC data showed that there  was a marked transformation from ferulic acid to  4-vinylguaiacol, and the conversion rates of intestinal  microflora and four probiotics were from 1.3 to 36.8%. Both  ferulic acid and 4-vinylguaiacol possessed dose- and  time-related anticancer activities on the two cell lines,  while 4-vinylguaiacol showed more potent effects than  ferulic acid. Interestingly, 4-vinylguaiacol exhibited  significantly higher antiproliferative effects on the HT-29  cell line than that on HCT-116. The IC50 of the metabolite  4-vinylguaiacol on HT-29 cells was 350 μM, 3.7-fold higher  than its parent compound. The potential of cancer cell  growth inhibition of 4-vinylguaiacol was mediated by cell  cycle arrest at the G1 phase and induction of apoptosis.  Data from this study indicate that the oral administration  of ferulic acid offers a promising approach to increase its  anticancer activity through gut microbial conversion to  4-vinylguaiacol, and the biotransformation could also be  achieved by selected commercial probiotics. 4-Vinylguaiacol  is a potential anticancer metabolite from ferulic acid for  chemotherapy-resistant colon cancer cells.},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/13432},
}