Anticancer activity of Euonymus europaeus fruit extract on transplantable mouse tumor model.

Euonymus europaeus L. (EE), is the only European representative of the Celastraceae family, with limited use in phytotherapy. In the present study, we investigated the anticancer effects of EE hydroalcoholic extract prepared from fresh fruits. The EE extract content was determined by HPLC analysis. Antitumor effect was assessed in vivo on Swiss mice. Mice implanted with transplantable tumor cells were treated with 25 or 50 mg/kg EE extract, by IP injection on the 1 st , 3 rd and 6 th day, the study lasted for 14 days long. A parallel study assesses the median survival rate. Evodiamine, a potent anticancer compound was found in significant amounts in the extract. EE therapy, at the higher dose, prevented the body weight gain (p<0.001), reduced the volume of ascitic fluid by 71.88% (p < 0.001) and increased the median survival rate by 28.57% (p<0.05).