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Published on: August 18, 2023
Cheminformatics based selection and cytotoxic effects of herbal extracts
Soroush Sardari1, Mohammad Ali Shokrgozar, Ghazaleh Ghavami
1Drug Discovery and Bioinformatics Group, Medical Biotechnology Department, Biotechnology Research Center, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Pasteur Avenue, Tehran 13164, Iran. ssardari@hotmail.com
Summary
Bioinformatics and traditional medicine identified novel herbs for cancer chemotherapy. In vitro tests confirmed these herbs selectively kill cancer cells with minimal impact on red blood cells.
Area of Science:
- Integrative oncology
- Computational drug discovery
- Phytochemistry
Background:
- Traditional medicine offers a rich source of compounds for novel drug discovery.
- Bioinformatics tools can accelerate the identification of therapeutic agents from natural sources.
- Efficient cancer chemotherapy requires the development of novel, selective drugs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and evaluate novel herbs with potential antitumor properties using bioinformatics and traditional medicine.
- To assess the in vitro cytotoxicity and selectivity of selected herbal extracts against cancer cell lines.
- To determine the biocompatibility of herbal extracts using hemolytic and antifungal assays.
Main Methods:
- Utilized similarity search tools and computational algorithms to screen for herbs with antitumor potential.
- Assayed selected herbal extracts on six human cancerous cell lines.
- Conducted complementary hemolytic and antifungal minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests.
Main Results:
- In silico predictions were validated by in vitro experimental results.
- Several herbal extracts, including Rheum ribes and Ficus bengalensis, demonstrated selective cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines.
- Hemolytic tests indicated no significant hemolysis, suggesting good biocompatibility with red blood cells.
- Six herbal extracts exhibited antifungal activity at a concentration of 250 microg/ml.
Conclusions:
- The study successfully integrated bioinformatics and traditional medicine to discover potential anticancer agents.
- Selected herbal extracts show promising selective anticancer activity and favorable biocompatibility.
- These findings support the further development of these herbs for efficient cancer chemotherapy.
