Evaluating the efficacy of an innovative herbal formulation (HF6) on different human cancer cell lines
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Cancer is reported to be the leading cause of death and illness worldwide. This research aims to evaluate the phytochemicals,
antioxidant, cytotoxic, and apoptotic activities of the polyherbal formulation HF6. HF6 was prepared by blending equal quantities of plants powder, namely, Curcuma longa, Salvia ofcinalis, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Capsicum annuum, Zingiber
ofcinale, and Syzygium aromaticum, and later extracted using hexane (HF6H), chloroform (HF6C), ethyl acetate (HF6E), and
methanol (HF6M) in Soxhlet apparatus. Among the four diferent extracts, only the hexane extract (HF6H) was signifcantly
efective. The HF6H extract showed antioxidant and anticancer potentials against diferent cancer cell lines, and moderate
cytotoxicity against non-cancer cells, rendering it a promising remedy. In addition, it exerted tremendous cytotoxic efects on
MCF-7, Huh-7, HCT116, MDA-MB-231, LoVo, and HepG2 cells with IC50 values of 2.02, 4.5, 6.9, 11.4, 23.5, and 34.7 µg/
mL, respectively. The morphological hallmarks of apoptosis such as the rounding of cells, loss of contact with neighboring
cells, formation of cell membrane blebbing, and microspike protrusion were detected using several diferent techniques. DAPI
staining revealed apoptotic nuclear morphology such as condensation and DNA fragmentation. The morphological changes
of MCF7 cells were also analyzed by AO/EB fuorescence staining. MCF7-stained green cells were viable cells, whereas the
treated cells showed fragmented green nuclei representing early apoptosis. The phytochemical screening of HF6H showed
positive results regarding the presence of alkaloids, polyphenols, favonoids, and sterols. The GC–MS (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry) analysis of the HF6H extract indicated the presence of 12 compounds, mainly trans-caryophyllene
(21.55%), cis-isoeugenol (18.42%), acetyleugenol (17.53%), alpha farnesene (10.0%), and zingiberene (8.55%). However,
further investigation could be carried out to examine the toxicity of the extract on animal models.
Cancer is reported to be the leading cause of death and illness worldwide. This research aims to evaluate the phytochemicals,
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