Enhanced anticancer effect of Artemisia turcomanica extract in niosomal formulation on breast cancer cells: In-vitro study

Abstract

Artemisia turcomanica is a medicinal plant that has been used to treat hepatitis, fever, malaria, cancer, tumors and asthma, and is considered inexpensive. In this work, we report the synthesis of niosomes loaded with Artemisia turcomanica extract and its anti-cancer properties against MCF-7 cells, as model breast cancer cells. The formulation with the highest surfactant concentration had a maximum entrapment efficiency of approximately 71.21%. Moreover, at physiological pH (7.4), the niosomal formulations exhibited a slow-release profile within three days, while at lower pH (5.4), the release rate was more significant. While the designed drug delivery system showed high biocompatibility against non-tumorigenic breast cells (MCF-10A), it showed high cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells (MCF-7 cell line). The anti-cancer effect of the Artemisia turcomanica-loaded niosomal formulation was significantly higher than free Artemisia turcomanica and pristine niosomes. The enhanced anti-cancer effect was further confirmed by regulation of different gene expression levels in MCF-7 cells and cell cycle analysis. The results of this study show the great potential of plant extract-loaded niosomes, in particular Artemisia turcomanica-loaded niosomes, as effective drug delivery systems for cancer treatment, which could impact on the future of traditional medicine cum modern medicine.