Investigation the effects of nigella sativa and chemotherapeutic agent on cancer HEp-۲ cells

Background and Objective : Nigella sativa has been used in traditional medicine to treat different diseases. The antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial effects of Nigella sativa extracts are recognized.Materials and Methods: To assess for possible properties of Nigella sativa extract from chemotherapeutic drug such as doxorubicin, the methanolic extract of Nigella sativa seeds were applied. Human epithelial type ۲ cells (HEp-۲ cells) cultured with ۰.۱ to ۵ μg/mL Nigella sativa extracts and ۲۰ ng/ml doxorubicin (Sigma Aldrich, Adriamycin PFS) for ۴۸ h. Cell viability was studied by ۳-(۴, ۵-dimethylthiazol-۲yl)-۲, ۵-biphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) test. Expression of specific apoptotic genes such as p۵۳ and Bcl-۲ was evaluated by Real-Time PCR analysis in vitro. Findings: The results after ۴۸ h denoted that the apoptotic effects of cancer HEp-۲ cells incubated with both Nigella sativa extracts and doxorubicin were considerably higher than the other Groups (p < ۰.۰۵). The expression of apoptotic factors notably enhanced in cancer cells incubated with both agents (P<۰.۰۰۱) contrasted with control and single-dose treatment groups. The use of herbal and chemotherapeutic drugs in our investigation was indicated to have a good impact on the induction of apoptosis. Conclusion: Herbal extract with chemotherapeutic agents can be a proper candidate to be utilized as synergistic therapeutic factors in cancer treatment.

کلیدواژه ها:

Nigella sativa ، Doxorubicin ، Apoptosis ، Cancer cells