Thunder god vine extract exerts antiproliferative effects on growth of human colon cancer cells and inhibits colon cancer growth in xenograft mice models

Colon cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancers among all gastrointestinal cancers and the treatment options for it are limited. Therefore, there is a need to explore novel and less toxic treatment options for colon cancer. Plants and plant derived products have been used as anticancer agents since decades. In the current study we evaluated the anticancer effects of thunder god vine (TGV) extract against colon cancer both in vitro and in vivo. Our results revealed that TGV extract reduces the cell viability of HTB-39 colon cancer cells in a concentration dependent manner. The IC50 of TGV extract was found to be 25 μg/ml against the HTB-39 colon cancer cells as compared to the IC50 of 130 μg/ml against normal CRL-1459 cells. DAPI and annexin V/PI staining revealed that TGV extract triggered apoptosis in HTB-39 colon cancer cells which was associated with upregulation of Bax and downregulation of Bcl-2 expression. Additionally, TGV extract could also induce G2/M cell cycle arrest in HTB-39 colon cancer cells at IC50 and the concentrations above it. The TGV extract was also evaluated in vivo in xenograft mice models and it was found that TGV extract could reduce tumor growth and volume in vivo indicating its anticancerous potential. We conclude that TGV exerts its anticancer effects via induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. We strongly believe that TGV extract could prove a source of important anticancer molecules.