Standardization of a polyherbal formulation (HC9) and comparative analysis of its cytotoxic activity with the individual herbs present in the composition in breast cancer cell lines

Abstract

Introduction: The present study aims to standardize a polyherbal formulation (HC9) that was previously shown to exhibit excellent antioxidant and cytotoxic activity in breast cancer cells. Here, we have compared the cytotoxic activity of HC9 with its individual components in breast cancer and non-cancerous cells. Methods: Physico-chemical and phytochemical evaluation of HC9 was performed. Qualitative and quantitative HPTLC analysis of component herbs and HC9 was done by using specific markers. The cytotoxic activity of HC9 with its individual components was evaluated in breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA MB-231) and non-cancerous cell lines (HEK-293, HaCaT and MCF-10A) by MTT dye uptake. Results: Physico-chemical results revealed that HC9 contained 7.24% total ash content, 9.52% of alcohol-soluble extractive, 0.801 specific gravity, 0.50g/ml bulk density and exhibited 7.18% loss on drying. Phytochemical results revealed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, flavanoids, saponins, tannins and phenolic compounds, and absence of terpenoids. The individual herbs of HC9 and the formulation showed the presence of marker compounds such as picroside-I, nootkatone, 6-gingerol, matairesinol, swertiamarin, berberine, connesine and 2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde. At 160µg/ml concentration, HC9 exhibited cytotoxicity in both MCF7 and MDA MB231 with no cytotoxicity in MCF-10A, HaCaT and HEK-293. In contrast, at this concentration, the individual herbs of HC9 exhibited cytotoxicity not only in cancerous cells, but also in non-cancerous cells. Conclusion: These results suggest that the standardized HC9 formulation was safe to non-cancerous cells and exhibited significant antineoplastic potential in breast cancer cells. Thus, HC9 could be a potential drug candidate in breast cancer.

Acute and Sub-acute Toxicity of Commiphora swynnertonii extracts: an Experimental Study on Albino Mice and Rats

“…The kidneys excrete metabolic waste products and regulate the serum concentration of a variety of substances (Benouadah , 2016). Creatinine is an important biomarker of renal toxicity and increases the levels of these parameters indicates a marked renal damage (Suryavanshi , 2015). Results from this study showed that oral administration of hexane extract to albino rats revealed the insignif icant changes of most of the serum biochemical parameters which suggest the nontoxic nature of the extract.…”

Phytochemical Profiling and Assessment of Habbe Musaffe Khoon Against Cervical Cancer

“…Pterocarpus santalinus (Azamthulla et al, 2015) has shown hepatoprotective activity, and M. azedarach (Ervina & Sukardiman, 2018) showed activity against different cancer cell lines. Previously, we have reported the anticancer activity of polyherbal formulations, Panchvalkal (Aphale et al, 2018) and HC9 (Suryavanshi et al, 2014) against cervical cancer and breast cancer, respectively. LCMS analysis revealed that alkaloids were the major phytochemicals present in HMK, along with flavonols, stilbenes, and others.…”

“…Most of the polyherbal formulations exhibit anticancer activity by decreasing the viability and growth rate of cancer cells. In some of the studies conducted by our research group, polyherbal formulations such as Panchvalakala (Aphale et al, 2018(Aphale et al, , 2021 and HC9 (Suryavanshi et al, 2014) exhibited anticancer activity against cervical cancer and breast cancer cells, respectively, by decreasing their viability and growth kinetics. The results of the current investigation showed that HMKaq not only had anti-proliferative capability but also displayed safety towards non-cancerous cells.…”