Capparis zeylanica L. is a climbing shrub distributed in Indian subcontinent and Mediterranean region. Almost all parts of the plant are used in folk medicine and traditional practices to treat several human ailments. The present study was aimed to investigate the role of C. zeylanica L. root extract in preventing cancerous cells growth and proliferation, as well as promoting apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Methanolic extract of C. zeylanica L. (MECz) was prepared and characterized by LC–ESI–MS/MS analysis. In vitro cytotoxicity and anti-proliferative activity of MECz was evaluated by MTT assay, while cell viability, apoptosis and cell cycle progression by Muse Cell analyzer. Furthermore, the mRNA and protein expressions of EMT markers were assessed using qRT-PCR and western blotting techniques, respectively. The MECz was found to be rich in phenolic compounds including chlorogenic acid, 6-gingerol, and certain triterpenes like ursolic acid etc. The apparent anti-metastasis activity of MECz was evident from IC₅₀ value of 19.12 and 24.22 μg/mL, respectively, on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells in MTT assay. An absolute decrease in cell viability (78.1–53.4% and 89.9–49.0%), augmented apoptosis (90.98–48.25% and 88.25–47.70%) and S phase, G₂/M phase cell cycle arrest was found by MECz treatment on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells. The gene expression studies revealed that MECz could significantly (p < 0.001) regulate the expression of EMT markers such as snail, slug, zeb-1, twist-1, fibronectin, vimentin and E-cadherin at molecular level. These findings demonstrate that C. zeylanica L. root extract inhibits breast cancer cells growth and proliferation through regulating the expression of key EMT marker genes and proteins. Thus, MECz may be suggested as a potential anti-metastasis agent in the treatment of breast cancer.

Capparis zeylanica L.是一种攀缘灌木，分布于印度次大陆和地中海地区。该植物的几乎所有部分都用于民间医学和传统做法中，以治疗多种人类疾病。本研究旨在探讨C. zeylanica L. 根提取物在预防 MDA-MB-231 和 MCF-7 乳腺癌细胞中癌细胞生长和增殖以及促进细胞凋亡和细胞周期停滞中的作用。制备C. zeylanica L. (MECz) 的甲醇提取物并通过 LC-ESI-MS/MS 分析进行表征。通过MTT法评估MECz的体外细胞毒性和抗增殖活性，并通过Muse细胞分析仪评估细胞活力、凋亡和细胞周期进展。此外，分别使用 qRT-PCR 和蛋白质印迹技术评估 EMT 标志物的 mRNA 和蛋白表达。 MECz 富含酚类化合物，包括绿原酸、6-姜酚和某些三萜类化合物，如熊果酸等。MECz 具有明显的抗转移活性，IC ₅₀值分别为 19.12 和 24.22 μg/mL， MTT 测定中 MDA-MB-231 和 MCF-7 细胞的变化。 MECz 处理 MDA 后发现细胞活力绝对下降（78.1–53.4% 和 89.9–49.0%），细胞凋亡增加（90.98–48.25% 和 88.25–47.70%）以及 S 期、G ₂ /M 期细胞周期停滞-MB-231 和 MCF-7 细胞。基因表达研究表明，MECz 可以在分子水平上显着（ p < 0.001）调节 EMT 标记物的表达，例如 snail、slug、zeb-1、twist-1、纤连蛋白、波形蛋白和 E-钙粘蛋白。这些发现表明C. zeylanica L. 根提取物通过调节关键 EMT 标记基因和蛋白质的表达来抑制乳腺癌细胞的生长和增殖。因此，MECz 可能被认为是治疗乳腺癌的潜在抗转移剂。