Abstract
Colon cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide. Conventional therapies have shown moderate efficacy with severe adverse effects, therefore there is an urgent need for safer alternatives. In this study, Cistanche tubulosa, local name Thanoon, was considered as a potential phytotherapeutic strategy because of its known high therapeutic potential in traditional medicine and wide abundance in the Middle East region. Bioactive compounds were extracted from powdered C. tubulosa and tested for their anticancer properties against four colon cancer cell lines including two derived from primary tumor (CaCo2 and HCT116) and two derived from metastatic site (LoVo and SW620). Effect of C. tubulosa on induction of apoptosis and cellular redox homeostasis were also investigated. C. tubulosa exhibited a concentration and time-dependent inhibition of proliferation of all tested cancer cell lines by more than 60% upon 72 hours treatment with 1 mg/mL of crude extract. Inhibition of proliferation was marked by induction of apoptosis, intracellular reactive oxygen species production and mitochondrial superoxides. This data suggest that C. tubulosa is a promising candidate for additive anti-colon cancer therapy. This is the first study showing anticancer bioactivity of C. Tubulosa against colon cancer cells.
Highlights
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide (Brenner et al, 2014), and its incidence is constantly increasing with an estimated 2.4 million cases in 2035, due to modern diet and lifestyle, along with reduced physical activity
Seventy two hours of Cistanche tubulosa extracts (CTE) treatment inhibited the growth of CaCo2 cells by more than 60% compared to control (p < 0.05 for all concentrations)
Time and concentration dependent inhibition of proliferation with CTE was further confirmed in LoVo cells by more than 60% at highest concentration (p < 0.05) (Figure 1C), and all four CTE concentrations tested reduced the growth of SW620 cells after 48 hours (Figure 1D, p < 0.05 for all)
Summary
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide (Brenner et al, 2014), and its incidence is constantly increasing with an estimated 2.4 million cases in 2035, due to modern diet and lifestyle, along with reduced physical activity. Current efforts are not sufficient to combat the present epidemic of colorectal cancer and novel approaches are needed for effective prevention and treatment including changes in life style in combination with safer alternative interventions such as Phytotherapeutics (Weidner et al, 2015). Medicinal plants have long been utilized as alternative treatment sources for cancers, representing more than sixty percent of anticancer agents used in conventional medicine (Balunas and Kinghorn, 2005; Saibu et al, 2015).Some of the best known examples include extracts from Catharanthus roseus G. Several herbal extracts and phytochemicals were shown to exert antitumor effects in colorectal cancer attributed to the induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and associated apoptosis of cancer cells as the case of extracts from Melissa officinalis (Weidner et al, 2015)
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