Mentha arvensis

• Published in: Breast cancer targets and therapy Vol. 9; p. 265
• Main Authors: Policegoudra, Rudragoud S, Bandyopadhyay, Arindam, Chattopadhyay, Ansuman, Bhattacharya, Shelley, Banerjee, Prajna Paramita, Karak, Niranjan, Harsha, Singapura Nagesh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press Limited 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Breast cancer; Cancer research; Care and treatment; Green chemistry; Health aspects; Mints (Plants); Nanomedicine; Silver
• ISSN: 1179-1314; 1179-1314

Introduction: Leaf extract of Mentha arvensis or mint plant was used as reducing agent for the synthesis of green silver nanoparticles (GSNPs) as a cost-effective, eco-friendly process compared to that of chemical synthesis. The existence of nanoparticles was characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, atomic-force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses, which ascertained the formation of spherical GSNPs with a size range of 3-9 nm. Anticancer activities against breast cancer cell lines (MCF7 and MDA-MB-231) were studied and compared with those of chemically synthesized (sodium borohydride [NaB[H.sub.4]]-mediated) silver nanoparticles (CSNPs). Materials and methods: Cell survival of nanoparticle-treated and untreated cells was studied by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cell-cycle analyses were carried out using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Cell morphology was observed by fluorescence microscopy. Expression patterns of PARP1, P53, P21, Bcl2, Bax and cleaved caspase 9 as well as caspase 3 proteins in treated and untreated MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells were studied by Western blot method. Results: MTT assay results showed that Mentha arvensis-mediated GSNPs exhibited significant cytotoxicity toward breast cancer cells (MCF7 and MDA-MB-231), which were at par with that of CSNPs. Cell cycle analyses of MCF7 cells revealed a significant increase in sub-G1 cell population, indicating cytotoxicity of GSNPs. On the other hand, human peripheral blood lymphocytes showed significantly less cytotoxicity compared with MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells when treated with the same dose. Expression patterns of proteins suggested that GSNPs triggered caspase 9-dependent cell death in both cell lines. The Ames test showed that GSNPs were nonmutagenic in nature. Conclusion: GSNPs synthesized using Mentha arvensis may be considered as a promising anticancer agent in breast cancer therapy. They are less toxic and nonmutagenic and mediate caspase 9-dependent apoptosis in MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Keywords: nanoparticles, EDX, TEM, breast cancer cells, anticancer, nonmutagenic