Antiproliferative Activity Extracts of <i>Simarouba glauca</i> and <i>Euphorbia hirta</i> Against Colorectal Cancer Cells

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to study the antiproliferative, apoptosis and gene expression level of an extracts derived from the medicinal plants Simarouba glauca and Euphorbia hirta on colorectal cell lines. Material and Methods: In this study, the fresh leaves of S. glauca and whole plant of E. hirta were subjected to solvent extraction using ethanol. The plant extracts were tested for the anticancer activity by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. MTT assay was performed on HCT-116 (human colon colorectal carcinoma) and Caco-2 (human colon colorectal adenocarcinoma) cell lines. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragmentation and real-time polymerase chain reaction assay were performed to check apoptosis and gene expression level. Results: The ethanolic extracts of S. glauca and E. hirta exhibited significant antiproliferative activity against colorectal cancer (CRC) cells – HCT-116 and CaCo2. Cytotoxicity activity of plant extracts on HCT-116 was more compared to CaCo2 cells. E. hirta shows more cytotoxicity activity compared to S. glauca extracts. Cell exposed at 160 and 320 μg/mL concentrations of plant extracts shows fragmentation of DNA. Increased expression of myelocytomatosis oncogene (MYC) gene and reduced expression of Cyclin D1 (CCND1) and Baculoviral IAP Repeat Containing 5 (BIRC5) gene show evidence that the extracts of S. glauca and E. hirta might induce apoptosis. This result shows that the extracts of S. glauca and E. hirta possessed immense potential treatment of CRC. Conclusion: Ethanolic extracts of Simarouba glauca and Euphorbia hirta exhibit strong antiproliferative activity against colorectal cancer, inducing apoptosis and demonstrating promising therapeutic potential for further exploration.