In vitro Anticancer, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Crude Methanolic Extract of Euphorbia cactus Ehrenb Plant

Background and Objective: Euphorbiaceae is a wide spread family of genus Euphorbia, from that family, belongs more than 2000 species. The plants of this genus have been used for a long time in traditional medicine. The present investigation is focused on the anticancer and antioxidant potential and antimicrobial activity of the methanolic extract of Euphorbia cactus Ehrenb plant (E. cactus Ehrenb). Materials and Methods: The study was facilitated by collecting the plant sample and subjected to crude methanol extraction. The anticancer activity was examined by MTT assay against three cancer cell lines MCF-7, PC-3 and HEPG2. The antimicrobial activity was determined using the agar diffusion method and MIC-determination. The DPPH radical method was used for the determination of antioxidant activity. Results: Interesting cytotoxic activity was observed for the extract against MCF-7 cell line compared to the known anticancer drugs. The antioxidant activity of the extract showed highly inhibitory activity compared with ascorbic acid. In addition, the methanolic extract showed the highest activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus pneumonia and Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli, compared with the standard drug. The extract didn't exert any activity against the pathogenic yeast species (Candida albicans) under these screening conditions. Conclusion: The current study demonstrated for the first time that E. cactus Ehrenb methanolic extract has anticancer effects against cancer cells from 3 types of cancerous cell lines. This may be a promising finding for future cancer treatments and in the prevention of cancer using natural products.