Chrysin (Chr) is a naturally occurring flavone with a wide spectrum of biological functions including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. Due to the low bioavailability and in vivo stability of Chr at therapeutic levels for wound-healing applications, Chr-loaded PCL/PEG nanofibrous mats were successfully fabricated by optimizing the electrospinning parameters and characterized using FE-SEM and FTIR. Results of MTT showed that Human foreskin fibroblast cells (HFF-1) have more than 80% viability on Chr-loaded nanofibers. The antioxidant activity of Chr-loaded PCL/PEG electrospun nanofibers was demonstrated applying an ORAC assay and by the capability of the nanofibers to maintain the viability of HFF-1 cells on the mats under an oxidative stress condition. The Chr-blended PCL/PEG nanofibrous mats also reduced overexpression of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α and excessive production of nitric oxide (NO) in J774A1 following stimulation by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). These results suggest that the proposed natural substance based nanofibrous mats can accelerate wound healing process with cell proliferation, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Herbal medicines have tremendous potential as promising agents for the treatment of cancer. Curcumin is a natural polyphenol which has many anticancer effects. Because of its low aqueous solubility, low bioavailability, and quick degradation and metabolism, curcumin was released using PLGA-PEG nanoparticles. Herein, the efficiency of pure curcumin and curcumin-loaded PLGA-PEG in MCF-7 human breast cancer cell lines was studied. (1)H NMR, FT-IR and SEM demonstrated PLGA-PEG structure and curcumin loaded on nanoparticles. Subsequently, the cytotoxic effects of free curcumin and curcumin-loaded PLGA-PEG were determined via an MTT assay. Our study confirmed that curcumin-loaded PLGA-PEG has more cytotoxic effects on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line and could be exploited as a potential source for developing novel drugs against breast cancer.
Trigonella foenum-graecum generally known as fenugreek, has been normally cultivated in Asia and Africa for the edible and medicinal values of its seeds. Fenugreek leaves and seeds have been used widely for therapeutic purposes. Fenugreek seed is recognized to show anti-diabetic and anti-nociceptive properties and other things such as hypocholesterolaemic, and anti-cancer. Diosgenin is a steroidal saponin from therapeutic herbs, fenugreek (T. foenum-graceum L.), has been well-known to have anticancer properties. Telomerase activity is not identified in usual healthy cells, while in carcinogenic cell telomerase expression is reactivated. Therefore telomerase illustrates a promising cancer therapeutic target. We deliberate the inhibitory effect of pure diosgenin and fenugreek extract diosgenin on human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (hTERT) expression which is critical for telomerase activity. MTT-assay and qRT-PCR analysis were achieved to discover cytotoxicity effects and hTERT gene expression inhibition properties, separately. MTT results exhibited that IC50 for pure diosgenin were 47, 44 and 43 µM and for fenugreek extract diosgenin were 49, 48 and 47 µM for 24, 48 and 72 h after treatment. Culturing cells with pure diosgenin and fenugreek extract diosgenin treatment caused in down regulation of hTERT expression. These results indication that pure and impure diosgenin prevents telomerase activity by down regulation of the hTERT gene expression in A549 lung cancer cell line, with the difference that pure compound is more effective than another.
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