Study of anti-cancer effects of Withania somnifera and Asparagus racemosus in 3D breast cancer cultures

Abstract

Breast cancer is one of the primary causes of death in women worldwide. Ayurveda is an ancient branch of medicine in India that uses plants and their extracts for the treatment of numerous diseases including cancer. With an increase in drug resistance and cytotoxic effect of traditional chemotherapeutics, emphasis is given on finding alternate, less harmful treatment options for cancer. Withania somnifera and Asparagus racemosus are two plants used in Ayurveda for the treatment of inflammation, heart diseases, and cancer. This project aims to evaluate the anticancer effects of these two plant extracts in 3D breast cancer model. 2D cultures fail to mimic the in vivo microenvironment of a tumor. Cancer cells, when grown on an extracellular matrix, such as Matrigel, form three-dimensional, multicellular, spheroidal structures that resemble the in vivo tumor. Hence, they are an ideal platform to test the effects of Withania somnifera ethanolic and water (WSE and WSW, respectively) extract and Asparagus racemosus (ARE and ARW, respectively) in breast cancers. Doxorubicin, which is a commonly used chemotherapeutic, is used as a positive control for the study. MTT assay was performed to determine the IC50 concentration for each extract and doxorubicin in ER+ MCF7 cells and a TNBC cell line, MDA-MB-231. Morphometric analysis of 3D cultures shows a significant reduction in spheroid size upon treatment with WSE, WSW, ARE and ARW. The data suggests that these extracts possess anti-cancer activity and may be developed as potential chemotherapeutic drugs.