Assessment of the Anti-proliferative Effect and Preliminary Analysis of Cell Cycle Arrest and Pro-apoptotic Effects of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile on Colorectal Cancer Cells HCT-116 and HT-29
Wamtinga Richard Sawadogo *
Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA and Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS/CNRST), 03 BP 7192, Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso.
Yun Luo
Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA, Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA, Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS/CNRST), 03 BP 7192, Ouagadougou 03, Burkina Faso and Key Laboratory of Modern Preparation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330004, China.
Bethany Elkington
College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA.
Tong-Chuan He
Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Chong-Zhi Wang
Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA and Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Chun-Su Yuan
Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA and Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile (Zygophyllaceae), is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of intestinal worms, wounds, and inflammatory diseases. The purpose of this study is to assess the anti-proliferative effect and to analyse the pro-apoptotic and cell cycle arrest activities of B. aegyptiaca root bark extract and fractions against colorectal cancer cells HCT-116 and HT-29. The cytotoxicity of the crude extract and fractions were evaluated by MTS assay. The most active fractionwas subjected to crystal violet assay, Hoechst staining, cell cycle arrest, and annexin V/PI assays on cancer cells to highlight its mechanisms of action. The ethyl acetate fraction demonstrated the most cytotoxic effect on HCT-116 and HT-29 with IC50 values ranging between 3 and 4 µg/mL. At 10 µg/mL in the cell cycle arrest assay, the fraction increased G1 phase by 3.83% on HCT-116 and by 8.6% on HT-29 whilst G2/M phase was decreased by 5.63% on HCT-116 and by 6.62% on HT-29. Moreover, apoptotic cells were increased by 11.4% on HCT-116. The results suggest a potential source of anticancer molecules against colorectal cancer for isolation from the ethyl acetate fraction.
Keywords: Medicinal plants, natural products, cytotoxicity, anticancer, cytometry