Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 19, 2025

Isolation and Purification of Fungal β-Glucan as an Immunotherapy Strategy for Glioblastoma
Published on: June 2, 2023
Anticancer Activity of Kefir on Glioblastoma Cancer Cell as a New Treatment
Arghavan Fatahi1, Neda Soleimani1, Parviz Afrough2
1Department of Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology, Faculty of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract:
Kefir drink is one of the most important probiotic products, which is made using kefir microorganisms in fermenting the milk. Numerous investigation have been accomplished in the field of the therapeutic property of probiotic products. In the present study, we assessed the cytotoxic effect of kefir on the rate of growth and increase of glioblastoma cancer cell as the most severe form of brain tumors. In this experimental study, we used a U87 cancer cell line (glioblastoma). The interaction between cancer cells and different concentrations of kefir drink and supernatants at 24 and 48 hours was considered. The cell cytotoxicity of kefir and sedimentation of cell lysate and extract of kefir was assessed using the MTT test after 24 and 48 hours. The result of the MTT test, treatment of the cells with the 48-hour fermented drink, demonstrated the most cell cytotoxicity in comparison with the control group. Results showed that the toxicity effect in all groups was dose-dependent, and by increasing the concentration, cell survival decreased noticeably. The results indicated that the supernatant of fermented kefir drink as a probiotic product has more toxicity and lethality effect on the glioblastoma cancer cell. This product can be utilized as a replacement or a complementary therapy of cancer.
Related Concept Videos
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
Treatment Resistant Cancers
Tumor Immunotherapy
Combination Therapies and Personalized Medicine
The combination of the drug acetazolamide and sulforaphane is a good example of combination therapy to treat cancer. The cells in the interior of a large tumor often die due to the hypoxic and...
Cancer Vaccines
Cancer vaccines come in two categories: preventive (prophylactic) and treatment (active). Preventive vaccines, such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, protect against viruses that cause certain...

