Ficus latex is rich in polyphenolic compounds and hence considered as an antioxidant and anti-proliferative. Many studies are available on Ficus carica (common fig) whereas Ficus salicifolia is less studied. F. salicifolia grows in a harsh dry environment, therefore its latex was selected in the current study along with the F. carica for their comparative anti-cancer potential and the involved molecular mechanism. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) derived MDA-MB-231 cells were used in the study. MTT and morphological studies indicated that the latex of both plants has anti-proliferative effects. To know their anti-metastatic effects, a wound-healing assay was performed. Both species were able to maintain the wound size compared to the untreated cells indicating their anti-metastatic effects. Using a DNA damage assay kit, we found that both fig species have genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in MDA-MB-231 cells compared to the untreated control. To know the potential molecular mechanism involved, we used a human kinase array kit. We found that ERK2, CREB, and AKT2 were downregulated after treatment the MDA-Mb-231 cells with the latex of F. carica. We assumed that F. salicifolia will also affect the same pathways, however after confirmation through real-time (RT)-PCR, downregulations of the above mentioned pathways were confirmed in cells treated with F. carica latex, however, in cells treated with F. salicifolia the selected genes were upregulated at the transcriptional level. We conclude that latex of both species of ficus have anti-cancer effects in MDA-MB-231 cells, however differ in their level of toxicity and the mechanism of action at the molecular level.

榕树乳胶富含多酚化合物，因此被认为是一种抗氧化剂和抗增殖剂。关于无花果（无花果）的研究有很多，而对柳叶榕的研究较少。F. salicifolia生长在恶劣干燥的环境中，因此本研究选择其乳胶与F. carica一起，因为它们具有比较的抗癌潜力和所涉及的分子机制。该研究使用了三阴性乳腺癌 (TNBC) 衍生的 MDA-MB-231 细胞。MTT和形态学研究表明两种植物的乳胶均具有抗增殖作用。为了了解它们的抗转移作用，进行了伤口愈合测定。与未处理的细胞相比，这两个物种都能够维持伤口大小，表明它们具有抗转移作用。使用 DNA 损伤检测试剂盒，我们发现与未经处理的对照相比，两种无花果物种对 MDA-MB-231 细胞均具有基因毒性和细胞毒性作用。为了了解所涉及的潜在分子机制，我们使用了人类激酶阵列试剂盒。我们发现用无花果乳胶处理 MDA-Mb-231 细胞后，ERK2、CREB ​​和 AKT2 下调。我们假设F. salicifolia也会影响相同的途径，然而，在通过实时 (RT)-PCR 确认后，在用F. carica乳胶处理的细胞中证实了上述途径的下调，然而，在用F. carica 乳胶处理的细胞中。 . salicifolia所选基因在转录水平上上调。我们得出的结论是，两种榕树的乳胶都对 MDA-MB-231 细胞具有抗癌作用，但其毒性水平和分子水平的作用机制不同。