Cranberry and grape extracts inhibit oral squamous cell carcinoma proliferation

Objectives: Dietary behaviors and nutrition components can influence the risk of developing oral cancer, and recent efforts have focused on the identification of factors responsible for modulating this risk. Proanthocyanidins, compounds highly concentrated in dietary fruits, such as cranberries and grapes, have demonstrated significant cancer prevention potential against many types of cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate cranberry and grape seed extracts to quantitate and compare their anti-proliferative effects on the most common type of oral cancer, oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods: Using two well-characterized oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, CAL27 and SCC-25, assays were performed to evaluate the effects of cranberry and grape seed extract on phenotypic behaviors of these oral cancers.

Results: The proliferation of both oral cancer cell lines was significantly inhibited by the administration of cranberry and grape seed extracts, in a dose-dependent manner. Increased adhesion and cell-cell clustering were also observed under these treatment conditions, but not with controls.

Conclusion: This study represents one of the first comparative investigations of cranberry and grape seed extracts and their anti-proliferative effects on oral cancers. Previous findings using purified proanthocyanidin from grape seed extract demonstrated more prominent growth inhibition, as well as apoptosis-inducing, properties on CAL27 cells. However, despite their growth inhibiting properties, neither cranberry nor grape seed extract demonstrated evidence of cellular necrosis or apoptosis in this study. These observations will be of benefit to researchers interested in elucidating which dietary components are central to mechanisms involved in the mediation of oral carcinogenesis and progression.