Ricinus communis L. fruit extract inhibits migration/invasion, induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells and arrests tumor progression in vivo

Sci Rep. 2019 Oct 10;9(1):14493. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-50769-x.

Abstract

Medicinal plant-based therapies can be important for treatment of cancer owing to high efficiency, low cost and minimal side effects. Here, we report the anti-cancer efficacy of Ricinus communis L. fruit extract (RCFE) using estrogen positive MCF-7 and highly aggressive, triple negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. RCFE induced cytotoxicity in these cells in dose and time-dependent manner. It also demonstrated robust anti-metastatic activity as it significantly inhibited migration, adhesion, invasion and expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) 2 and 9 in both cell lines. Further, flow cytometry analysis suggested RCFE-mediated induction of apoptosis in these cells. This was supported by attenuation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, induction of pro-apoptotic Bax and caspase-7 expressions as well as PARP cleavage upon RCFE treatment. RCFE (0.5 mg/Kg body weight) treatment led to significant reduction in tumor volume in 4T1 syngeneic mouse model. HPLC and ESI-MS analysis of active ethyl acetate fraction of RCFE detected four compounds, Ricinine, p-Coumaric acid, Epigallocatechin and Ricinoleic acid. Individually these compounds showed cytotoxic and migration-inhibitory activities. Overall, this study for the first time demonstrates the anti-cancer efficacy of the fruit extract of common castor plant which can be proposed as a potent candidate for the treatment of breast cancer.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology
  • Caspase 7 / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Checkpoints / drug effects
  • Cell Movement / drug effects
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects*
  • Female
  • Fruit / chemistry
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / drug effects
  • Humans
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness / genetics
  • Neoplasm Invasiveness / pathology
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / genetics
  • Ricinus / chemistry*

Substances

  • BCL2 protein, human
  • Plant Extracts
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2
  • Caspase 7