Investigation of the effect of ferulic acid on human colorectal cancer cell lines and aldose reductase enzyme

Ferulic acid is a phenolic compound commonly found in many different plants in nature. Ferulic acid, which is abundant in rice, cereal bran, whole grain foods, vegetables and fruits, has a very important position in traditional Chinese medicine. Studies conducted so far have proven that ferulic acid has potential activity in improving many complications, especially oxidative stress, inflammation, cancer, diabetes-related diseases, vascular endothelial damage. In our country and in the world, cancer and cancer-related mortality are increasing every year. Thousands of people are diagnosed with cancer every year, therefore, cancer emerges as a global public health problem. Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancer. Traditional methods such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are used in the treatment of colorectal cancer. However, the fact that traditional methods cause many undesirable complications in addition to their healing effects on patients has increased the interest in natural-source therapeutics. In this study, the cytotoxic effect of ferulic acid on the human colorectal cancer cell line HT-29 and the antioxidant activity of ferulic acid on the aldose reductase enzyme, which is the key enzyme of the polyol pathway, were investigated. According to the results of the cell culture studies carried out, there is no significant effect of ferulic acid on the HT-29 cell line was determined. However, in the study conducted to determine the antioxidant activity of ferulic acid on the aldose reductase enzyme, it was concluded that ferulic acid had an inhibitory effect on the aldose reductase enzyme. It is considered that the study carried out is important in terms of contributing to the limited resource in the literature on the effect of ferulic acid on the HT-29 cell line.