Fig. 1

DEH inhibits the growth of colorectal cancer cells in vitro. a Colorectal cells (HCT 116 and SW620) and normal human colon epithelial cell NCM460 were incubated with a series of different concentrations of DEH for 48 h. Cell viability was measured by the MTT assay. The IC₅₀ values of DEH for 48 h in the tested cells are marked in the lower-left corner. b Dose- and time-dependent effects of DEH on HCT 116 and SW620 cells. The cells were incubated DEH at different concentrations for 24, 48, and 72 h. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay. The results are represented as the means ±SD (N = 3). c Cell morphology of HCT 116 and SW620 cells after incubation with the indicated concentrations of DEH or DMSO for 48 h. Scale bar: 10 μm. The histograms represent the effect of DEH on the cell viability. d Images and quantification of -positive HCT 116 and SW620 cells after treatment with DEH for 48 h. Scale bar: 100 μm. e Colony formation and self-renewal capability were investigated by soft agar assay after incubation with DMSO, 20, or 60 μM DEH, Scale bar: 15 μm. The number of clones was counted and statistically represented as mean ± SD. The notability analysis was performed by the Unpaired Student’s t-test, and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001