Betavulgarin is an anticancer agent that can be isolated from beets (Beta vulgaris). It inhibits the proliferation, migration, colony formation, and mammosphere formation of breast cancer cells, while reducing the size of the CD44+/CD24− subpopulation and the expression of self-renewal-related genes C-Myc, Nanog, and Oct4. Betavulgarin promotes the death of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) by regulating Stat3/Sox2 signaling pathways.

Betavulgarin, when applied at concentrations of 50-500 μM for 24 hours, significantly inhibits the proliferation, migration, colony formation, and mammosphere formation of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. At 200 μM for 24 hours, it effectively reduces the size of the CD44+/CD24− subpopulation in MDA-MB-231 cells from 90.4% to 57.2%. Additionally, Betavulgarin at 200 μM for 48 hours inhibits Stat3 translocation and decreases both total and nuclear p-Stat3 protein levels along with mRNA and protein levels of SOX2 in mammospheres derived from MDA-MB-231 cells. It also significantly impairs the ability of Stat3 to bind DNA in these mammospheres. Over a period of 24-72 hours, Betavulgarin reduces the mRNA expression of self-renewal-related genes C-Myc, Nanog, and Oct4, and inhibits the growth of mammospheres derived from breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs).