There is an emerging interest in botanicals and plant extracts for medicinal practices due to their widely reported health benefits. Considering that a large variety of phytochemicals found in plants have been correlated with antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties, plant-derived products are promising candidates for modulating the progression and treatment of numerous diseases. Sugar cane (SC), in particular, has been known for its high nutritional value, but composition-wise variability due to changing environmental and processing conditions, as well as scattered research in different fields, have considerably limited its use in the nutraceutical and biomedical fields. This work is therefore aimed at assessing the therapeutic potential of Colombian SC-derived extracts in the treatment of immune-related diseases. To preserve the antioxidant and immunomodulatory potential of the extracts, they were produced under controlled and reproducible heat transfer conditions. This translates into lower and more stable processing temperatures. Three SC-derived products, namely SC juice, SC syrup, and non-centrifugal sugar were selected to account for the different stages of SC processing and evaluate the effect of the production method on composition and biological activity. The phenolic content of methanolic extracts of SC and its derivatives was estimated via HPLC-coupled mass spectroscopy and correlated with their corresponding antioxidant activities, as measured by ABTS and DPPH assays. In addition, their potential for modulating inflammation was evaluated <i>in vitro</i> by exposing LPS- and S. aureus-stimulated macrophages and microglia to each extract and quantifying the differential release of 13 relevant cytokines (LEGENDPlex<sup>TM </sup>Human Inflammation Panel) associated with inflammatory responses. Similarly, their modulating effect on neurodegeneration-associated inflammation was assessed on alpha-synuclein-stimulated microglia. Retention of relevant polyphenols and their antioxidant activities was observed in all samples with minimal loss due to thermal processing. Moreover, all derivatives inhibited the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines in stimulated macrophages and microglia. These preliminary results demonstrate the potential of SC-derived extracts as promising therapeutic candidates for tackling immune-related diseases.

Antioxidant and immunomodulatory Colombian sugar cane extracts as therapeutic agents for immune-related diseases: systemic and central nervous system evaluation

ACS Fall 2021

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