ANTI-PROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY OF CALOTROPIS GIGANTEA (FLOWER EXTRACT) ON COLORECTAL CANCER CELL LINE

The flower extract of Calotropis gigantea is rich in bioactive compounds and have potential to decrease various risk factors in the human body. The flavonoids in the flower extract of Calotropis gigantea have shown to possess potent anti-proliferative activity against colorectal cancer cell lines. Colorectal cancer is the cancer found in colon or the rectum, the cancerous growth starts in the inner lining of the colon or the rectum and these growths are called polyps. The polyps would change or develop into cancer with time. In this study, the therapeutic potential of Calotropis gigantea flower extract on colorectal cancer cell lines was analyzed. The anti-cancer properties of Calotropis gigantea flower extract have been attributed to its ability to induce apoptosis in cancer cells and inhibit cancer cell proliferation. Comparative analysis of the normal cell lines L929 (fibroblast cell lines) and HCT- 116 (colorectal cancer cell lines) treated with Calotropis gigantea flower extract revealed its anti-cancerous property due to morphological changes of the HCT-116 cells, typical to apoptotic cells, leading to cell death, whereas there was no toxic effect on the L929 cells. The results confirm the anti-proliferative property of Calotropis gigantea flower extract against human colorectal cancer cell lines (HCT-116) which can induce death in cancer cells while protecting the noncancerous cells.