VALORIZATION OF ANTIOXIDANT, ANTICANCER ACTIVITIES, AND PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF EUPHORBIA CUNEATA VAHL., AND ITS EFFECT ON THE EXPRESSION OF P53, RAF-1AND CASP3 GENES

Objective: Euphorbia cuneata Vahl. (E. cuneata) is used in traditional medication to relieve inflammation and pain, while the biological foundation of these actions has not been fully explored. The purpose of this work was to explore the pharmacological characteristics and classification of flavonoid and phenolic constituents found in aerial parts of E. cuneata. Methods: E. cuneata was examined for cytotoxic effects, antioxidant activity, and cell viability. The flavonoid and phenolic contents, and fugacious constituents were also characterized; furthermore, the expression levels of Raf-1, P53, and Casp3 genes using qRT-PCR method were investigated. Results: Ethanolic extract (EE) of E. cuneata showed the highest antioxidant activity, the antioxidant activity increased from (25.12) at 10 μg/mL to (97.90) at 1280 μg/mL. The EE has an IC50 of 28.52 μg/mL. E. cuneata EE extract had strong cytotoxic effects on human cell lines of lung cancer (H1299), breast cancer (MCF7), and colon cancer (HCT-116), respectively according to the MTT test; with lower IC50 (125.01, 149.56 and 148.56) μg/mL, respectively. The most common phenolic acid identified in the EE extract of E. cuneata was pyrogallol, in addition, the most abundant flavonoid was found to be 7-hydroxyflavone; on the other hand, GC mass analysis showed that the EE extract was rich in methyl 12-hydroxy-9-octadecenoate. Treatment of H1299 with the IC50 of EE resulted in a considerable downregulation of Raf-1 gene and upregulation of P53 and Casp3 genes. Conclusion: We may infer that the EE extract of E. cuneata includes natural bioactive components, moreover antioxidant and anticancer characteristics, which may have therapeutic potential.