Abstract: The objective of this study was to explore the anti-tumor activity of the polyphenols extracted from flax meal by ultrasonic-assisted extraction. The content of polyphenols in the extract was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay. The clonogenic survival assay was used to evaluate the inhibitory effect of flax polyphenols on the proliferation of colon cancer and normal FHC cells. Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis of fluorescence-labeled cells. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of apoptosis-related proteins. We also evaluated the regulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by flax polyphenols. The results showed that flax meal polyphenols had obvious anti-cancer activity and pro-apoptotic activity on DLD1 and HCT-116 cells. Meanwhile, flax meal polyphenols could promote the expression of the pro-apoptotic factors Bak and Bax, inhibit the expression of the anti-apoptotic factors Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL, promote the release of cytochrome c, and elevate the level of ROS in colon cancer cells in a concentration-dependent manner. In summary, flax meal polyphenols can exert anti-tumor effects by increasing ROS level in colon cancer cells and activating mitochondrial apoptotic pathways.

Key words: flax meal polyphenols, colon cancer cell, cells apoptosis, reactive oxygen species