IMR Press / FBL / Volume 28 / Issue 8 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2808180
Open Access Original Research
The Role of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Cytotoxic Effects of Solanum nigrum Water Extract on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells
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1 Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, 11451 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2 Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Sciences, Annamalai University, 608002 Annamalai Nagar, India
3 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, 11451 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
4 Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, 11451 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
*Correspondence: khan_haseeb@yahoo.com; haseeb@ksu.edu.sa (Haseeb A. Khan)
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2023, 28(8), 180; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2808180
Submitted: 5 March 2023 | Revised: 18 July 2023 | Accepted: 27 July 2023 | Published: 28 August 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mitochondrial Biology in Health and Disease)
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: Recent studies suggest that numerous naturally occurring agents have the potential to kill cancer cells via mitochondrial dysfunction. Solanum nigrum is a herb widely used in alternative medical systems. This study aimed to investigate the cytotoxic effect of Solanum nigrum water extract (SNWE) against Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) and MD Anderson-Metastatic Breast Cancer-231 (MDA-MB-231) cells. Methods: We used an MTT reduction assay for cytotoxicity analysis. To explore the mode of action, the cellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels and mitochondrial membrane potential were analyzed using a colorimetric ATP assay and Rhodamine-123 fluorescent staining, respectively, during SNWE treatment for 72 h. Results: The cytotoxic effect was significant in both cell lines, with IC50 values of 4.26 µg/mL and 5.30 µg/mL in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively. The 24, 48, and 72 h treatments of 100 µg/mL SNWE showed 0.85 ± 0.07, 0.38 ± 0.1, and 0.20 ± 0.1 nM ATP in MCF-7 cells and 0.94 ± 0.07, 0.84 ± 0.2 and 0.46 ± 0.2 nM in MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively. The SNWE treatment altered the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) in a concentration-dependent manner in both the breast cancer cell lines, to 29.6 ± 4.1% in MCF-7 and 28.7 ± 4.17% in MDA-MB-231 cells, when compared with healthy mitochondria (100% ΔΨm). Conclusions: The cytotoxic effects of Solanum nigrum against breast cancer cells are associated with energy metabolism. Additional studies are warranted to test the anticancer effect of Solanum nigrum using an animal model of breast cancer.

Keywords
Solanum nigrum
mitocans
mitochondrial dysfunction
mitochondrial membrane potential
energy metabolism
breast cancer
Funding
2-17-03-001-0044/National Plan for Science, Technology, and Innovation (MAARIFAH), King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology
Figures
Fig. 1.
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