Objective:

2

To investigate the anti-colorectal cancer (CRC) activity and its potential molecular mechanism of euscaphic acid (EA)

a triterpene component from

Rosa roxburghii

Tratt (RRT)

in vitro

and

in vivo

.

Methods:

2

EA in RRT was isolated and analyzed for pharmacophore-based virtual screening

and enrichment analysis was performed. HCT116 and CT26 cells were used for

in vitro

experiments. Meanwhile

we constructed a CT26 syngeneic tumor BALB/c mice model and performed

in vivo

experiments. Finally

the mitochondrial apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway-related proteins were detected by Western blot.

Results:

2

EA could inhibit the viability of HCT116 and CT26 cell lines

suppress the biological behaviors including proliferation

migration

and invasion

and induce apoptosis

in vitro

(

P

<

0.05 or

P

<

0.01). Meanwhile

in vivo

experiments showed that EA significantly inhibited the growth of CRC graft tumors (

P

<

0.05 or

P

<

0.01). EA could decrease mitochondrial membrane potential and increase caspase-3/9 activities (

P

<

0.05 or

P

<

0.01). Furthermore

EA promoted the cellular ROS accumulation accompanied by activation of the MAPK signaling pathway

and interestingly

the phosphorylation level of extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) was higher (

P

<

0.05 or

P

<

0.01). In addition

the above process could be reversed by the free radical scavenger N-acetylcysteine (

P

<

0.05 or

P

<

0.01).

Conclusions:

2

EA could inhibit the growth of CRC cell lines both

in vitro

and

in vivo

and activate the mitochondrial pathway through the ROS/MAPK signaling pathway to induce apoptosis in CRC cell lines. This supports the antitumor potential of triterpene acids from RRT.