Immunostimulant/Cytotoxic Effect of Cardamom Extract with Adjuvant Combination on Breast Cancer Cell Line

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women and is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths. It is caused by the uncontrolled proliferation of cells in the breast tissue as a result of various factors. For the treatment of breast cancer, chemical drugs are utilized generally. However, chemical cancer drugs have a cytotoxic effect on healthy cells. That causes dose limitation and a decrease in the effectiveness of the treatment. For this reason, herbal-based studies in the treatment of breast cancer become popular day by day. In the literature, the anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties of many plants have been analyzed and their effectiveness has been proven. Diindolylmethane (DIM) and indole-3-carbinol (I3C) molecules found in Elettaria Cardamomum (E. Cardamomum, Cardamom) plant, reduce metastasis, tumorigenesis, immunomodulation. It has been shown in the literature that they play a role in preventing the development of breast cancer via inducing apoptotic pathways in the breast cancer cell. Herein, it is aimed to prevent breast cancer development by applying cardamom extract and cardamom Extract-Freund's adjuvant combination to THP-1 human macrophage cell line and MCF-7 breast cancer cell line and to increase the efficiency of cardamom extract with the use of an adjuvant. As a result, it was determined that the cytotoxic effect of the cardamom Extract-Freund’s adjuvant combination on breast cancer cells was higher than the alone cardamom extract application. At the same time, it was determined that the toxic effect of Freund's adjuvant could be reduced by increasing the plant extract concentration.