Anticancer, antioxidant, and acute toxicity studies of a Saudi polyherbal formulation, PHF5

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>A popular polyherbal formulation prepared from five plants (PHF5) may have anticancer effects. However, there is a lack of adequate scientific evidence. We assessed the anticancer, antioxidant, and acute toxicity effects of PHF5. Cancer cells were treated with 0 to 300 μg/mL PHF5 extract. Established assays were used to assess cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and radical scavenging activities. In the acute toxicity study, mice were administered a single oral dose (2,000 mg/kg) of PHF5, and biochemical and histopathological parameters were assessed. The IC<jats:sub>50</jats:sub> values of PHF5 on LoVo, HepG2, MCF-7, and MDA-MB 231 cells were 71.8, 64.8, 45.3, and 47.3 μg/mL, respectively. Fluorescence staining demonstrated that PHF5 induced MCF-7 cell apoptosis. After 48 h, the percentage of late apoptotic cells increased significantly compared with the control cells (74.16 ± 0.64 vs 3.7 ± 2.05, <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> &lt; 0.05). No mortality or behavioral alterations were observed in mice treated with a single dose (2,000 mg/kg) of PHF5, indicating that the LD<jats:sub>50</jats:sub> value exceeded 2,000 mg/kg. However, histopathological changes were observed in the liver tissues. PHF5 has potential as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of human carcinoma. Further safety data will be necessary before clinical use.</jats:p>

[Retracted] Evaluation of the Anticancer Potential of Morus nigra and Ocimum basilicum Mixture against Different Cancer Cell Lines: An In Vitro Evaluation

“…The radical scavenging activity of the MO2 extracts was evaluated in vitro following the method instructed by Abutaha et al [ 12 ]. The reaction solution composed of 198 μ L DPPH (0.008% in methanol) and 2 μ L of various extract concentrations (4–0.125 mg/mL) of each plant, as well as standardizing gallic acid (10–90 μ g/mL).…”

“…Subsequently, the formazan crystals were dissolved using a solubilization solution such as DMSO. The resulting-colored solution was quantified by reading the absorbances of samples at 570 nm via a spectrophotometer [ 12 ].…”

“…Total Polyphenol Content. The total phenol content was evaluated through the Folin-Ciocalteu (Alpha Chemika, India) assay method [12]. Two microliters of each extract was mixed with twenty microliters of Folin-Ciocalteu reagent (10%) in a 96-well plate.…”

“…Total Flavonoid Content. The total flavonoid content was evaluated using the aluminium chloride (AlCl 3 ) colorimetric assay [12]. In a 96-well plate, 2 μL of each plant extract was combined with 60 μL of methanol, of 10% aluminium chloride (4 μL), 1 M of potassium acetate (4 μL), and 112 μL of distilled water.…”

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“…Many terpenoids have been found to exhibit anticancer property on different stages of tumor development through suppression of angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis by regulating various intracellular signalling pathways 51 . Triterpene acids show various pharmacological activities like anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, cytotoxic, antiviral, and cardiovascular protection 52 . Esters and their derivatives can be obtained from many natural sources.…”