Exploring the Anticancer Potential of Some Selected Medicinal Plants from Amroha District against Human Breast Cancer (MCF-7) Cells and Cervical Carcinoma (HeLa) Cells

Abstract

Breast and Cervical cancers are still the most diagnosed cancers in women globally, and the toxicity, resistance, and lack of selectivity of conventional chemotherapy are continuously sparking the quest for novel cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic plant-derived structural leads. In this context, the present study explored five traditionally used medicinal plants from the Amroha region for their anticancer activity against the human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7) and HeLa, a human cervical carcinoma cell line. It evaluated the combined effects of the plant extracts on apoptosis-related gene expression. The plants were divided into two groups. Group I comprised Abrus precatorius and Andrographis paniculata, and Group II consisted of Commiphora wightii, Bacopa monnieri, and Clitoria ternatea. Extraction yields ranged from 36%-46%, and preliminary screening showed flavonoids, alkaloids, phenolics, saponins, steroids, and glycosides. GC–MS profiling identified 17 constituents in Group I, and Group II comprised 18 compounds. Group I showed well-constrained IC₅₀ estimates of 56.12 µg/mL in MCF-7 and 36.7 µg/mL in HeLa, whereas Group II IC₅₀ estimates were poorly constrained and should be considered indicative. Each of the combinations using these plant extracts led to an apoptosis-related response in both MCF7 breast cancer and HeLa cervical cancer models. Group I increased total apoptosis from 19.0±5.7% in the control to 44.2±5.2%, almost 2.3-fold higher, as measured by the reduction in the viable cell fraction in MCF-7 cells. In terms of molecular regulation, Group I and Group II significantly increased CASP7 expression 9.29-fold (Group I) and 13.29-fold (Group II), respectively, and enhanced transcription of CASP9 and TP53 to activate apoptosis-related pathways. In HeLa cells, Group I increased the total fraction of apoptosing cells (APCOMP) from 22.1±1.7% to 31.0±2.5%, a ~1.4-fold increase, and coincidentally reduced the viable cell fraction. The pro-apoptotic response in HeLa cells was also reinforced by Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), where apoptosis-related genes such as BAX, CASP3, CASP7, CASP9, TP53, and BCL2 were modulated, suggesting the involvement of multiple levels of the apoptotic pathway. Group I showed greater overall cytotoxic and apoptotic activity, whereas Group II produced greater transcriptional induction of CASP7 in MCF-7 cells. The results suggested that selected plants have potent anti-cancer activity against breast and cervical cancers.