Abstract
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide and chemotherapy is the main approach for the treatment of advanced and recurrent cases. Developing an effective complementary therapy could help to improve tumor suppression efficiency and control adverse effects from chemotherapy. Paris polyphylla is a folk medicine for treating various forms of cancer, but its effect on colorectal cancer is largely unexplored. The aim of the present study is to investigate the tumor suppression efficacy and the mechanism of action of the ethanolic extract from P. polyphylla (EEPP) in DLD-1 human colorectal carcinoma cells and to evaluate its combined effect with chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin. The data indicated that EEPP induced DLD-1 cell death via the upregulation of the autophagy markers, without triggering p53- and caspase-3-dependent apoptosis. Moreover, EEPP treatment in combination with doxorubicin enhanced cytotoxicity in these tumor cells. Pennogenin 3-O-beta-chacotrioside and polyphyllin VI were isolated from EEPP and identified as the main candidate active components. Our results suggest that EEPP deserves further evaluation for development as complementary chemotherapy for colorectal cancer.
Highlights
Paris polyphylla is a well-known herbal medicine used in China and Taiwan, primarily to treat fevers, headaches, burns, and wounds, and for neutralizing snake poison [1]
These results indicate that ethanolic extract from P. polyphylla (EEPP) treatment induced cytotoxicity in colorectal carcinoma cells, suggesting that EEPP treatment causes DLD-1 colorectal cancer cell death
These results suggest that the EEPP-mediated inhibition of the DLD-1 colorectal cancer cell growth does3 not of 14 involve apoptosis
Summary
Paris polyphylla is a well-known herbal medicine used in China and Taiwan, primarily to treat fevers, headaches, burns, and wounds, and for neutralizing snake poison [1]. The plant extract was documented to exert anti-cancer activity both in vivo and in vitro [2]. Numerous natural steroidal saponins isolated from herbs show potential apoptosis-promoting activity against several cancer cells types [3,4,5]. P. polyphylla extract was found to inhibit ovarian carcinoma cell growth [7]. Many herbal formulas and remedies based on traditional Chinese medicine are well accepted among cancer patients with Chinese background [11,12,13]. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is based on the use of natural products and well-established theoretical approaches. TCM provides many potential candidates as effective drugs for integrated cancer chemotherapy, such as TJ-41 (Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang) and PHY906
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