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Polyphenol-rich dietary foodstuffs have attracted attention due to their cancer chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic properties. Ellagitannins (ETs) belong to the so-called hydrolysable tannins found in strawberries, raspberries, walnuts, pomegranate, oak-aged red wine, etc. Both ETs and their hydrolysis product, ellagic acid (EA), have been reported to induce apoptosis in tumour cells. Ellagitannins are not absorbed in vivo but reach the colon and release EA that is metabolised by the human microflora. Our aim was to investigate the effect of a dietary ET [pomegranate punicalagin (PUNI)] and EA on human colon cancer Caco-2 and colon normal CCD-112CoN cells. Both PUNI and EA provoked the same effects on Caco-2 cells: down-regulation of cyclins A and B1 and upregulation of cyclin E, cell-cycle arrest in S phase, induction of apoptosis via intrinsic pathway (FAS-independent, caspase 8-independent …