Mumio (Shilajit) as a potential chemotherapeutic for the urinary bladder cancer treatment

Mumio (Shilajit) is a traditional medicinal drug known and used for hundreds of years. Bladder cancer is one of the most common cancer types and better treatments are needed. This study analysed the in vitro effect of Mumio on urinary bladder cancer cells (T24 and 5637) in comparison to normal uroepithelial cells (SV-HUC1). Cytotoxicity of Mumio was analysed in these cell lines via MTT and real-time cell growth assays as well via the assessment of the cytoskeleton, apoptosis, and cell cycle. Mumio affected the viability of both cell types in a time and concentration dependent manner. We observed a selectivity of Mumio against cancer cells. Cell cycle and apoptosis analysis showed that Mumio inhibited G0/G1 or S phase cell cycle, which in turn induced apoptosis. Our results showed that Mumio was significantly more cytotoxic to urinary bladder cancer cells than to normal cells. These results are promising and indicate Mumio as a great candidate for urinary bladder cancer treatment and further investigations should be performed.