Abstract
Current treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma consists of chemotherapy and invasive tumor removal surgery. These forms of treatment have often been disappointing while new and natural methods to treat liver cancer may be preferred. We tested the cytotoxic effects of the fruit mixture Galaxy® against HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro. Galaxy® was evaluated using three groups; thus, cytotoxicity bioassays were determined against: whole product (unfractionated), the supernatant, and the particulates. Paclitaxel, a major FDA-approved chemotherapeutic drug, was tested against HepG2 cells in order to compare the effectiveness of the Galaxy® matrices against traditional chemotherapy. In addition, a 24-hour bioassay was performed to compare the toxicity of Galaxy® each hour through the incubation period. Our results have shown that unfractionated Galaxy® has significant anticancer activity in vitro against HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma, killing 90% of cancer cells at 26.3 mg/mL. The particulates and supernatant fractions were also cytotoxic on liver cancer. The majority of anticancer activity was present in the particulate fraction which suggests that most of the anticancer agents are located primarily in the pulp and are membrane bound. While Galaxy® is not as effective as Paclitaxel at lower concentrations; our in vitro results clearly show that Galaxy® (all three matrices) may be an effective product against human hepatocellular carcinoma at higher concentrations. During the 24-hour cycle study, unfractionated Galaxy® showed a steady linear cytotoxic effect per hour. Collectively the data from these experiments suggest that Galaxy® merits serious consideration in the development of future research protocols.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, resulting in 748,300 new cases diagnosed in 2008 [1]
We tested the cytotoxic effects of the fruit mixture Galaxy® against HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro
Our results have shown that unfractionated Galaxy® has significant anticancer activity in vitro against HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma, killing 90% of cancer cells at 26.3 mg/mL
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer; HCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, resulting in 748,300 new cases diagnosed in 2008 [1]. The risk of developing liver cancer increases with factors associated with hepatitis B/C virus, aflatoxin, iron storage disease, cirrhosis, alcoholism or obesity [3,4,5]. Treatment for liver cancer traditionally consists of surgery or chemotherapy, with often unsatisfactory results [7,8]. This disappointing data suggest the need for alternative treatments such as natural remedies. Studies of natural remedies have shown that many fruit and plant extracts contain a diverse suite of anticancer compounds. In 2010, researchers found that Camptothecin, isolated from the hairy root culture Ophiorrhiza pumila, showed anticancer activity and in 2012 that plant polyphenols contain chemopreventive properties that are cytotoxic against HCC [10,11]
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