John Sylvester B. Nas | Sheryl E. Dangeros | Princess Duanne R. Chen | Rosemarie C. Dimapilis | Daniel Joshua G. Gonzales | Fatima Jeda A. Hamja | Cathdrin Joyce Ramos | Ashera D. Ashera
In the Philippines, many accounts have resurfaced claiming different herbal and therapeutic advantages of Eleusine indica (Indian goosegrass), such as antiviral, anti-plasmodial, antidiabetic, antioxidant, antidiuretic, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties [1-3]. One of these advantages is its anticancer potential. Despite some studies claiming that the crude extract has cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic activity, it is still insufficient [4-5]. Hence, further scientific evidence is needed to support this claim. In this study, we evaluated the anticancer potential of E. indica methanolic leaf extract (EMLE) by focusing on two cancer-related pathways, Ras and Wnt pathways. Dysregulation in the Wnt pathway has been linked to colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, and breast cancer. Meanwhile, irregularities in the Ras pathway are associated with myelomonocytic leukemia, ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, and cervical cancer. We used wild-type and transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans strains, which have irregular Ras or Wnt signaling. Humans and C. elegans share comparable Ras and Wnt signaling pathways, especially their downstream targets. We determined the average number of eggs laid of each strain and the multi-vulva development of the Ras-mutant strain. Our findings show that EMLE does not affect the number of eggs laid of the wild-type, Ras-mutant, and Wnt-mutant worms. Furthermore, EMLE was not able to reduce the Ras-mutant population demonstrating multi-vulva. Taken together, our data suggest that the anticancer potential of EMLE may be independent of Ras and Wnt signaling pathways.
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