Comparative in vitro/theoretical studies on the anti-angiogenic activity of date pollen hydro-alcoholic extract: Highlighting the important roles of its hot polyphenols

Introduction: Date palm pollen (DPP) is the male reproductive soft powder from date flowers widely used as the valuable dietary supplement to fortify the size of testis and ovarian to increase the power of sex. This part of date palm significantly exhibited anti-diabetic, anti-inflammation and protective effects against male and female infertility. Though the anticancer activity of date fruits was previously reported, the DPP anti-angiogenic effects were not reported, and as the first study, its inhibitory effects were examined in the current study.

Methods: The DPP soft powder was collected to prepare its hydro-alcoholic extract to examine its anti-angiogenic activity in an in vitro model. At different concentrations, the cytotoxicity of the prepared extract was examined on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) using lactate dehydrogenase method. Cell proliferation was determined using the MTT assay and cytodex-3D model in collagen gel was used to assay its possible anti-angiogenic activity. The expression of VEGF, MMP-2 and MMP-9 genes was measured using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Finally, molecular docking simulation was used to highlight the possible role of DPP polyphenols to interact with the associated receptors.

Results: The prepared hydro-alcoholic extract exhibited significant anti-angiogenic activity in a dose-dependent manner and decreased the endothelial cell proliferation. The calculated IC50 value for the examined extract in angiogenesis model was 260 µg·mL, respectively. Also, the expression of VEGF, MMP-2 and MMP-9 genes were significantly decreased. Docking simulation results unveiled that the isolated DPP polyphenols have the affinity to interact with ctDNA, VEGF and its receptors.

Conclusion: The DPP is the new source of non-toxic anti-cancer agents to use as a dietary supplement in the pre-treatment of cancer.