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Synergistic anticancer effects of curcumin and crocin on human colorectal cancer cells

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Abstract

Background

Curcumin, a polyphenol compound derived from the Curcuma longa L, and crocin, a hydrophilic carotenoid from Crocus Sativus Linnaeus, are traditionally used in food preparations in many countries and could act as chemopreventive compounds against several diseases, including cancer. In this study, the synergistic effect of curcumin and crocin was investigated for the first time on inducing apoptosis and suppressing colorectal cancer cells (SW-480 cell line).

Methods and Results

MTT, Annexin V-FITC/PI, and DAPI staining tests were employed to evaluate cell viability and apoptosis induction, respectively. The combined effect of curcumin and crocin on the expression of genes involved in apoptosis and proliferation was quantified using real-time PCR. The combination therapy effect on cell cycle progression was also evaluated by flow cytometry. Based on the obtained results, curcumin and crocin treatment could cooperatively reduce cell viability and induce apoptosis in SW-480 cells by modulating the expression of Bax, Bcl-2, Caspase-3, Caspase-8, Caspase-9, Jak2, Stat3, and Akt1 genes. Besides, curcumin and crocin were able to synergistically increase the cell cycle arrest at the sub G1 phase, induce autophagy and decrease the clonogenic ability of SW-480 cells.

Conclusions

These results suggested that curcumin and crocin combination could be considered a more effective therapeutic strategy for inhibiting colorectal cancer.

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Data Availability

All data generated in this study are available in the manuscript.

Code Availability

Not applicable.

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Funding

No funding. Acknowledgments: The authors are thankful for the support of the Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology, Higher Education Institute of Rab-Rashid, Tabriz, Iran

    Seyed Samad Hosseini, Robab Zare Reihani & Maryam Tohidast

  2. Immunology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Seyed Samad Hosseini, Mohammad Amin Doustvandi, Mohammad Amini, Behzad Baradaran, AmirHossein Yari, Maryam Tohidast & Ahad Mokhtarzadeh

  3. Department of Medical Science, Marand Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marand, Iran

    Felor Zargari

  4. Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Maryam Hashemi

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  1. Seyed Samad Hosseini
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Contributions

S.S.H and R.Z.R performed the majority of experiments and data analysis. M.A.D. and M.A. contributed to carry out the experiments and interpreted the results; S.S.H wrote the manuscript; F.Z. and M.H. revised the manuscript. B.B. revised the work critically for important intellectual content. A.Y. and M.T. helped with the revision of the manuscript. A.M. designed and conducted the project.

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Correspondence to Ahad Mokhtarzadeh.

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Hosseini, S.S., Reihani, R.Z., Doustvandi, M.A. et al. Synergistic anticancer effects of curcumin and crocin on human colorectal cancer cells. Mol Biol Rep 49, 8741–8752 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-022-07719-0

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