Two spurge species, Euphorbia resinifera O. Berg and Euphorbia officinarum subsp. echinus (Hook.f. & Coss.) Vindt inhibit colon cancer.

BACKGROUND: Colon cancer, a prominent contributor to global cancer-related deaths, prompts the need for innovative treatment strategies. Euphorbia resinifera O. Berg (E. resinifera) and Euphorbia officinarum subsp. echinus Hook. f. & Coss Vindt (E. echinus) and their bee-derived products have been integral to traditional Moroccan medicine due to their potential health benefits. These plants have historical use in addressing various health issues, including cancer. However, their effects against colon cancer remain unclear, and the specific mechanisms underlying their anti-cancer effects lack comprehensive investigation. METHODS: The study aimed to assess the potential anti-cancer effects of Euphorbia extract on colon cancer cell lines (DLD-1) through various techniques. The apoptosis, migration, and proliferation of DLD-1 cells were measured in DLD-1 cells. In addition, we conducted High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis to identify the profile of phenolic compounds present in the studied extracts. RESULTS: The extracts demonstrated inhibition of colon cancer cell migration. E. resinifera flower and E. echinus stem extracts show significant anti-migratory effects. Regarding anti-proliferative activity, E. resinifera flower extract hindered proliferation, whereas E. echinus flower extract exhibited dose-dependent inhibition. Apoptosis assays revealed E. resinifera flower extract inducing early-stage apoptosis and E. echinus flower extract promoting late-stage apoptosis. While apoptotic protein expression indicated, E. resinifera stem and propolis extracts had minimal impact on apoptosis. CONCLUSION: The findings provide evidence supporting the beneficial effects of E resinifera and E. echinus extracts on colon cancer and exerting anti-cancer properties.

Chromosome-level Genome Assembly of Euphorbia peplus, a Model System for Plant Latex, Reveals that Relative Lack of Ty3 Transposons Contributed to Its Small Genome Size.

Euphorbia peplus (petty spurge) is a small, fast-growing plant that is native to Eurasia and has become a naturalized weed in North America and Australia. Euphorbia peplus is not only medicinally valuable, serving as a source for the skin cancer drug ingenol mebutate, but also has great potential as a model for latex production owing to its small size, ease of manipulation in the laboratory, and rapid reproductive cycle. To help establish E. peplus as a new model, we generated a 267.2-Mb Hi-C-anchored PacBio HiFi nuclear genome assembly with a BUSCO score of 98.5%, a genome annotation based on RNA-seq data from six organs, and publicly accessible tools including a genome browser and an interactive organ-specific expression atlas. Chromosome number is highly variable across Euphorbia species. Using a comparative analysis of our newly sequenced E. peplus genome with other Euphorbiaceae genomes, we show that variation in Euphorbia chromosome number between E. peplus and Euphorbia lathyris is likely due to fragmentation and rearrangement rather than chromosomal duplication followed by diploidization of the duplicated sequence. Moreover, we found that the E. peplus genome is relatively compact compared with related members of the genus in part due to restricted expansion of the Ty3 transposon family. Finally, we identify a large gene cluster that contains many previously identified enzymes in the putative ingenol mebutate biosynthesis pathway, along with additional gene candidates for this biosynthetic pathway. The genomic resources we have created for E. peplus will help advance research on latex production and ingenol mebutate biosynthesis in the commercially important Euphorbiaceae family.