The effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Moringa oleifera leaves in a mouse model of colon cancer induced by CACO2 cell line

The inability of chemical drugs to completely treat patients with colon cancer has made it one of the deadliest cancers in the world in both sexes. Medicinal plants are important elements of the indigenous medical system. Many plant compounds are currently being developed as potent anticancer agents. However, some anticancer agents are still extracted from plants because they have complex structures that cannot be chemically synthesized on a commercial scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Moringa hydroalcoholic extract on colon cancer.

Moringa leaves were purchased and approved, and then its hydroalcoholic extract was extracted. The total phenolic and flavonoid content of the extract was measured, and then the dominant phenolic and flavonoid compounds of the extract were confirmed by HPLC method. The antioxidant power of the extract was measured. Then, the toxic effects of the extract on colon cancer cell viability (CACO2) were investigated by MTT assay. After tumor induction in mice, tumor volume was assessed after extract injection.

The flavonoids with antioxidant properties identified in this study included quercetin, gallic acid and caffeic acid. MTT results showed that Moringa at a dose of 1024 μM could not kill 50% of CACO2 cells, but by injecting it into the tumor, it had positive effects on reducing tumor volume. The effects of the extract on the tumor were dose and time dependent.

Moringa extract with different flavonoids can be used as a useful plant source in the treatment of colon cancer.