Synergistic Anticancer Activity of the Medicinal Plant Bioactives : Curcuma Longa Linn . and Tinospora Cordifolia Willd . in Cervical Cancer

Anti-cancer effects of medicinal plant products are mentioned in the ancient texts of Ayurved. Currently they have been studied at experiential, experimental and clinical levels in Reverse Pharmacology mode. Curcuma longa Linn and Tinospora cordifolia Willd. the most widely used for their medicinal properties in Ayurved are also reported for having anticancer potential in many cancers. The aim of study is to explore anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative potential and to understand the mechanism of action of these medicinal plants extracts individually or synergistically on cervical cancer cell lines. Anti-inflammatory activity of 5 extracts (curcumin, turmeric oil and poly sachharides from Curcuma longa and berberine and polysaccharides from Tinospora cordifolia) and mixture of the extracts was evaluated by in vitro macrophage activation assay and modulation of TNF-α and IL-6 release. Extracts were assessed for their cytotoxicity by sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay on SiHa and C33a cervical cancer cell lines. Indole amine 2, 3dioxygenase (IDO) assay for immune modulation and flow cytometry with propidium iodide (PI) staining for cell cycle analysis were also performed. The results indicated that curcumin, berberine and the mixture of all 5 extracts could significantly reduce cytokine release in the supernatant from lipopolysaccharide (LPS) activated macrophages. All the extracts showed cytotoxicity in a dose dependent manner in both cell lines. Mixture of the extracts showed better activity than individual extracts in all the experiments. Our study reveals that Curcuma longa and Tinospora cordifoila extracts synergistically demonstrate anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activity. There is therefore scope for using these plant bio actives as complementary therapy or for chemoprophylaxis.

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