Therapeutic potential of doxorubicin and Evodia suaveolens leaves extract in targeting cell cycle arrest and proliferation on acute myeloid leukemia in vitro

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematopoietic malignancy characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells in the bone marrow. The standard chemotherapy in treating AML cases is anthracycline, including doxorubicin; however, it could cause severe side effects if administered continuously at high doses, making it less tolerable for some patients. Evodia suaveolens, a herbal medicine, is known to contain active compounds and anti-cancer activities, which could inhibit cancer cell proliferation. This study aims to determine the combined effect of doxorubicin and Evodia suaveolens on inhibiting the G2/M cell cycle phase and proliferation in AML cells. This experimental study used HL-60 cells which were divided into six treatment groups: K- (control), K+ (doxorubicin 0.2 µg/mL), D1-D3 (combination of doxorubicin 0.2 µg/mL and Evodia suaveolens leaf extract with concentrations of 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 mg/mL) and D4 (Evodia suaveolens leaf extract 0.8 mg/mL). The findings indicated that the G2/M phase of the cell cycle was most effectively inhibited at the D3 dose (doxorubicin at 0.2 µg/mL combined with Evodia suaveolens leaf extract at 0.8 mg/mL), which also significantly reduced cell proliferation. Consequently, this study concludes that the combination of doxorubicin and Evodia suaveolens effectively inhibits the G2/M cell cycle phase and proliferation in AML cells.