Isolation and Purification of Phytosterols from Euphorbia Milii Plant Cultivated in Iraq by PHPLC and Evaluation of Anticancer Activity

Authors

Z. O. Salman, Department of Biology, College of Science for Women, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, IraqFollow
Bushra M.J. Alwash, Department of Biology, College of Science for Women, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, IraqFollow
E. J. Kadhim, Department of Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Plant, College of Pharmacy, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, IraqFollow

Abstract

Combined, plant sterols and stanols, substances structurally similar to cholesterol, are referred to as phytosterols. In plants, phytosterols serve the same purposes as cholesterol does in animals and people. This study’s primary goal was to compare two different cell line types to the extracted steroid and nano-steroid. PHPLC was used to isolate the novel steroid molecule from the Euphorbia milii plant in its pure form, and FT.IR was used to confirm its identity. The chemical had a retention time of 13.87. By using the chitosan-maleic complex process, nano-steroids were created. To evaluate produced nanoparticles, the Philips PW1730 XRD instrument was utilized. The morphological characteristics are ascertained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Using the MTT assay, the anti-cancer activity of steroids and nano-steroids against prostate cancer cells (PC3), breast cancer cells (MCF-7), and healthy cell lines was investigated. Apoptotic indicators were examined using AO/EtBr double labeling and DNA fragmentation. Using flow cytometry, the dispersion of the cell cycle was ascertained. Recent research has confirmed that the cytotoxic effect on cell lines of prostate and breast cancer was significantly improved by the amounts of steroids and nano-steroids. These results suggest that steroids and nano-steroids may have a dose-dependent effect in stopping the proliferation of breast and prostate cancer cells where it induces apoptosis and halts development in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. Based on the current data, treating cancer cells of different types could potentially benefit from the use of the steroid and nano-steroid combination as a therapeutic method.

Keywords

Apoptosis, MTT assay, Nano-steroid and the steroid, Phytosteols, PHPLC

Subject Area

Biology

Article Type

Article

First Page

18011

Last Page

18024

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite this Article

Salman, Z. O.; Alwash, Bushra M.J.; and Kadhim, E. J. (2025) "Isolation and Purification of Phytosterols from Euphorbia Milii Plant Cultivated in Iraq by PHPLC and Evaluation of Anticancer Activity," Baghdad Science Journal: Vol. 22: Iss. 11, Article 15.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21123/2411-7986.5117