{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]],"date-time":"2026-10-16T02:44:55Z","timestamp":1792118695857,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,13]],"date-time":"2023-04-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1681344000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"King Saud University","award":["RSP2023R430"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RSP2023R430"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Metabolites"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Euphorbia plants have a significant place in traditional medicine due to their numerous therapeutic properties, including their anti-tumor effects, which have been observed in several species. In the current study, a phytochemical investigation of Euphorbia saudiarabica methanolic extract led to the isolation and characterization of four secondary metabolites from the chloroform (CHCl3) and ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fractions, which are reported for the first time in this species. One of the constituents, saudiarabicain F (2), is a rare C-19 oxidized ingol-type diterpenoid that has not been previously reported. The structures of these compounds were determined by extensive spectroscopic (HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR) analyses. The anticancer properties of the E. saudiarabica crude extract, its fractions and its isolated compounds were examined against several cancer cells. The active fractions were evaluated for their effects on cell-cycle progression and apoptosis induction using flow cytometry. Furthermore, RT-PCR was employed to estimate the gene-expression levels of the apoptosis-related genes. It was demonstrated that the E. saudiarabica CHCl3 and EtOAc fractions suppressed the proliferation of the cancer cells. The MCF-7 cells were the most sensitive to both fractions, with IC50 values of 22.6 and 23.2 \u00b5g\/mL, respectively. Notably, both fractions caused cell-cycle arrest in the G2\/M phase of the treated MCF-7 cells. The inhibition of the MCF-7 cells\u2019 proliferation was also linked with apoptosis induction by flow-cytometry analysis. Additionally, the activation of apoptosis by both fractions was demonstrated by an increase in the ratio of Bax to Bcl-2, with an increase in the expression of caspase-7. Among the isolated compounds, glutinol (1) showed potent activity against the MCF-7 cell line, with an IC50 value of 9.83 \u00b5g\/mL. Our findings suggest that E. saudiarabica has apoptosis-inducing effects and shows promise as a potential source of new chemotherapeutic drugs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/metabo13040556","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,14]],"date-time":"2023-04-14T02:03:38Z","timestamp":1681437818000},"page":"556","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Revisiting the Flora of Saudi Arabia: Phytochemical and Biological Investigation of the Endangered Plant Species Euphorbia saudiarabica"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0262-7101","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Omer I.","family":"Fantoukh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5313-7153","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gadah A.","family":"Al-Hamoud","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6496-7822","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fahd A.","family":"Nasr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5663-3064","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Omer M.","family":"Almarfadi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9192-7260","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammed F.","family":"Hawwal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3902-5152","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zulfiqar","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Center for Natural Products Research, School of Pharmacy, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS 38677, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1389-8724","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Waleed A.","family":"Alobaid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdulaziz","family":"Binawad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Menwer","family":"Alrashidi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2382-5892","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fawaz","family":"Alasmari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohammad Z.","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0902-6381","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Omar M.","family":"Noman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"209","DOI":"10.3322\/caac.21660","article-title":"Global Cancer Statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries","volume":"71","author":"Sung","year":"2021","journal-title":"CA Cancer J. 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