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Exploring Anticancer Properties of Medicinal Plants against Breast Cancer by Downregulating Human Epidermal Growth

Sunny Gupta1, Rashima Prem2, Chinmayee Sethy1

  • 1Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India.

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
|April 16, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Medicinal plant extracts show anticancer effects against HER2-positive breast cancer. Certain plants, including Terminalia chebula, Berberis aristata, and Mucuna pruriens, notably reduce HER2 expression and modulate cell death pathways.

Area of Science:

  • Phytochemistry
  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Traditional medicine utilizes plants for cancer management.
  • Scientific evidence for plant-based reduction of HER2 expression in breast cancer is lacking.
  • HER2-positive breast cancer requires targeted therapeutic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the anticancer properties of 10 medicinal plant extracts against HER2-positive breast cancer cells.
  • To investigate the effect of these extracts on HER2 expression levels.
  • To identify potential novel therapeutic agents from medicinal plants for HER2-positive breast cancer.

Main Methods:

  • Screening of 10 medicinal plant extracts for antiproliferative activity using SRB assay.
  • Assessment of DNA damage via comet assay and apoptosis induction using annexin V-FITC staining.
  • Evaluation of HER2 expression levels through immunoblotting.
  • Proteomic and metabolic profiling of key plant extracts and treated cancer cells.

Main Results:

  • All tested plant extracts demonstrated antiproliferative effects on HER2-positive breast cancer cells.
  • Terminalia chebula, Berberis aristata, and Mucuna pruriens significantly reduced HER2 expression.
  • Treatment led to an increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, indicating apoptosis induction.
  • Proteomic analysis revealed significant alterations in protein expression profiles following treatment with selected plant extracts.

Conclusions:

  • Medicinal plants possess significant anticancer potential against HER2-positive breast cancer.
  • Specific plant extracts, notably T. chebula, B. aristata, and M. pruriens, exhibit promising HER2-downregulating properties.
  • These findings support the development of plant-derived compounds as novel therapeutic options for HER2-positive breast cancer.
Keywords:
antiapoptoticantiproliferativebreast cancermetabolomicsplant extractproteomics

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