Evaluation of antiproliferative and antioxidant effect of Smilax excelsa

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive primary malignant tumor of the central nervous system (CNS) that causes severe damage. The poor prognosis and low survival rates in GBM are due to the ineffectiveness of current therapy techniques. Discovering new and effective treatments is essential. Traditional medicine has made use of Smilax excelsa, a plant with medicinal significance, to treat a wide range of diseases. In this research, we investigated whether or not Smilax excelsa ethanol extracts had any antioxidant or cytotoxic traits. The DPPH radical scavenging test demonstrated that the ethanol extract displayed major antioxidant activity. The extract also showed dose-dependent cytotoxicity against the C6 glioma cells, providing more evidence for its potential as a GBM treatment. Since so little prior research has focused on Smilax excelsa, the novelty and contribution of our study are highlighted. The efficacy of the extract to trigger apoptosis in glioblastoma cells was further demonstrated by an increase in Bax protein expression, as detected by immunofluorescence staining (IF) as well as Beclin-1 protein expression was increased while Bcl2 decreased. The results of this study highlight the promise of Smilax excelsa as a possible source of new compounds for the development of efficient treatments for GBM.