In-Vitro Cytotoxic, Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Activity of Siddha Formulation Nandhi Mezhugu (NM) Against Hela...

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women of childbearing age. Nandhi Mezhugu is a Siddha herbo-mineral drug widely used to treat cancer. Due to a lack of scientific evidence, the present study was intended to evaluate the anti cancer activity of Nandhi Mezhugu in the HeLa cell line. The cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium, then treated with different concentrations of the test drug (10 to 200 µg/ml). The anti proliferative activity of the drug was evaluated using an MTT assay. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle were measured by flow cytometry and typical nuclear changes of apoptotic processes were observed under the microscope using the dual acridine orange/ethidium bromide fluorescent staining method. The study result showed that the percentage of cell viability decreased with an increase in the concentration of the test drug. The MTT assay data showed that the test drug Nandhi Mezhugu had the antiproliferative effect on cervical cancer cells with IC₅₀ of 139.7 ± 13.87 µg/ml. Further studies such as flow cytometry and dual staining method also revealed the apoptotic effect of the test drug. Nandhi Mezhugu can be effectively used as an anti cancer formulation to treat cervical cancer. Thus, the current study brings forth scientific evidence for the efficacy of Nandhi Mezhugu against the HeLa cell line. Further studies will be needed to prove the promising efficacy of Nandhi Mezhugu.