Processing of Liposome-Encapsulated Natural Herbs Derived From Silybum Marianum Plants for the Treatment of Breast Cancer Cells Publisher



Ramedani A¹ ; Sabzevari O^{2, 3} ; Simchi A^{1, 4} Show Affiliations
Source: Scientia Iranica Published:2022

Abstract

It has long been known that Silibinin, a nature-derived herbal phytochemical, is an e ective drug for treating toxic thyroid damage; however, its role in cancer treatment is still not approved and is under investigation. In this work, a protocol to prepare Liposome-Encapsulated Silibinin (LES) is proposed with the potential to produce Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) to treat MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Spherical-shaped LES nanoparticles with an average size of 60 nm and narrow particle size distribution (PDI = 0.11) were prepared through the hydration of thin lms. Studies of the pharmacokinetics illustrated that a burst release occurred during the first 12 h, followed by a sustained release over the next 12 days. MTT assays and the analysis of the drug effect determined that LES nanoparticles displayed a significant cytotoxic effect in killing breast cancer cells. IC50 values for LES nanoparticles were experimentally determined to be 20 μM which was signi cantly lower than that of the pristine drug (38 μM). It was also found that LES could remarkably change the expression levels of Caspase-3, Caspase-9, Bax, Bcl-2, and hTERT genes compared to the pristine drug. Therefore, encapsulating Silibinin into liposomes is an e ective strategy to enhance the e ectiveness of breast cancer treatment dramatically. © 2022 Sharif University of Technology. All rights reserved.