Anti- and pro-oxidant activity of polyphenols extracts of Syrah and Chardonnay grapevine pomaces on melanoma cancer cells

The phenolic composition of Syrah and Chardonnay grape pomaces was studied to assess their antioxidant and prooxidant properties. Polyphenols were extracted by a "green" hydroalco- holic solvent (ethanol/water 1:1 v/v), and a detailed chemical and electrochemical characterization of the phenolic compounds was performed. The antioxidant and prooxidant capacity of the pomace was first studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and other reference analytical assays, then with bio- logical tests on B16F10 metastatic melanoma cancer cells. Electrochemical data showed that, when a +0.5 V potential was applied, a low to moderate antioxidant capacity was observed. MTT test showed an increasing viability of melanoma cells, after treatments at low concentration (up to 100 μg/mL) and for a short time (6 h), but when cells were treated with higher doses of extract (≥ 250 μg/mL for 12/24 h), their viability decreased from 25 to 50% vs. control, depending on treatment time, dose, and extract origin. A stronger prooxidant activity resulted when 250 μg/mL of extract was combined with non-toxic doses of H2O2; this activity was correlated with the presence of copper in the extracts. This study shows the potential of winemaking by-products and suggests the oppor- tunity to exploit them for the production of cosmeceuticals, or for combined therapies with ap- proved anticancer drugs.