{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T06:28:39Z","timestamp":1790922519803,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,28]],"date-time":"2025-01-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1738022400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Tempus Public Foundation through the Doctoral School of Health Sciences at the University of P\u00e9cs"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A promising approach to accelerating the development of innovative anti-cancer therapies involves the evaluation of natural plant compounds. In this study, we focused on examining the effects of Warbugia ugandensis (W. ugandensis) methanolic root and stem infusions on the activity of five target genes\u2014COX-2, CASPS-9, Bcl-xL, Bcl2, and 5-LOX\u2014using colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines (Caco-2). The plant extracts were prepared for testing by dissolving them in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) after undergoing a step-by-step extraction process. Caco-2 cells were then treated with different concentrations of the extracts, and RNA was extracted and purified for analysis. Our results demonstrated a dose-dependent relationship between the phytoconstituents of W. ugandensis and the overexpression of CASP9, along with the downregulation of COX-2, 5-LOX, Bcl-xL, and Bcl2 genes. This suggests that W. ugandensis acts as a potent natural inhibitor of CRC progression. Given the potential clinical benefits, we propose the use of W. ugandensis methanolic root and stem extracts as promising organic inhibitors for CRC tumorigenesis, with more in vitro studies warranted to validate and expand on our findings. Additionally, we recommend further studies to identify and characterize the specific metabolites in W. ugandensis that contribute to the modulation of pathways responsible for inhibiting CRC growth.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu17030471","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,28]],"date-time":"2025-01-28T07:54:08Z","timestamp":1738050848000},"page":"471","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Antitumor Activity of Warbugia ugandensis: Methanolic Extracts and Gene Regulation in Colorectal Cancer"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7535-9478","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"John M.","family":"Macharia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Science, University of P\u1ebbcs, 7621 P\u00e9cs, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-1956-9573","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"John K.","family":"Maina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5656-089X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Afshin","family":"Zand","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Medicine, Medical School, University of P\u00e9cs, 7624 P\u00e9cs, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Betsy","family":"Rono Cheriro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Records and Information Management, School of Public Health, College of Health Science, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi 43844-00100, Kenya"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4950-0669","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"T\u00edmea","family":"Varjas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Medicine, Medical School, University of P\u00e9cs, 7624 P\u00e9cs, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9615-1740","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"D\u00e1vid","family":"Sipos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Diagnostics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of P\u00e9cs, 7621 P\u00e9cs, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zsolt","family":"K\u00e1poszt\u00e1s","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, University of P\u00e9cs, 7621 P\u00e9cs, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1562-9496","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ferenc","family":"Bud\u00e1n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of P\u00e9cs, 7624 P\u00e9cs, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-2992-6503","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Orsolya Liza","family":"K\u00f6vesdi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Science, University of P\u1ebbcs, 7621 P\u00e9cs, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bence L.","family":"Raposa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Basics of Health Sciences, Midwifery and Health Visiting, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of P\u00e9cs, 7621 P\u00e9cs, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100332","DOI":"10.1016\/j.phyplu.2022.100332","article-title":"A systematic review of selected plants and their metabolites with anticolorectal cancer effects","volume":"2","author":"Macharia","year":"2022","journal-title":"Phytomed. 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