Abstract
Objective: Despite advanced treatment options available for colorectal cancer, many reported resistance and unresponsiveness to conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, it is urgent to discover a novel drug for colon cancer. Sarang Semut (Myrmecodia pendans), an Indonesian native plant, has been studied extensively due to its anti-cancer profiles. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-tumour activity of Sarang Semut in colon cancer cells.Methods: We evaluated cytotoxic activity of methanol extract as well as n-hexane and ethyl acetate fraction towards colon cancer cell lines (Caco-2 and HCT-116 cells) utilizing 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The most potent fraction was evaluated further in inhibiting cell survival using MTT assay and cell proliferation using trypan blue exclusion assay as well as a clonogenic assay.Results: Our data showed that the n-hexane fraction of Sarang Semut induces more cell death than the methanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction. Therefore, we analyzed the n-hexane fraction further and found that the inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50) of the n-hexane fraction was 24 and 30 parts per million (ppm) for Caco-2 and HCT-116 cells, respectively. Moreover, it inhibited cell growth as well as cell colony formation, in particular, shown by the plating efficiency (P<0.05) and colony area per seed (P<0.01) of the control group were different to the treatment group.Conclusion: The n-hexane fraction of Sarang Semut demonstrates a high potential antitumor activity in colon cancer cell line.
Highlights
Colorectal cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the world [1]
Our data showed that the n-hexane fraction of Sarang Semut induces more cell death than the methanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction
We analyzed the n-hexane fraction further and found that the inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50) of the n-hexane fraction was 24 and 30 parts per million for Caco-2 and HCT-116 cells, respectively. It inhibited cell growth as well as cell colony formation, in particular, shown by the plating efficiency (P
Summary
Colorectal cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the world [1]. Patients with stage I or II colorectal cancer are treated with surgery, while patients with stage III colorectal cancer are treated with surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, and patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) are treated with systemic chemotherapies alone or in combination with targeted biologics [3,4]. Most of the colon cancer patients develop resistance to adjuvant chemotherapy [5]. Despite advances in cytotoxic agents and targeted therapy available, resistance to chemotherapy remains one of the greatest challenges in long-term management of incurable metastatic disease and eventually contributes to death as tumors accumulate [5]. It is urgent to discover a novel drug for colon cancer to overcome the resistance and provide better treatment response, which will lead to improving the survival of patients with colon cancer
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