Unveiling a sustainable approach to cancer treatment: the antitumor activity of amygdalin and cell-free supernatant of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus.

The pharmaceutical industry increasingly prioritizes environmental sustainability across its strategies, focusing on developing eco-friendly anti-cancer treatments. This is particularly important considering many anti-cancer drugs are not fully metabolized and pollute aquatic ecosystems. Amygdalin, a plant-derived compound, and cell-free supernatants (CFS) of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus show promise as sustainable anti-cancer agents. This study evaluated the potential anti-cancer activity of amygdalin and L. rhamnosus CFS against MCF-7 and A549 cancer cell lines. Cell viability was assessed using the MTT assay in response to monotherapy and combination therapy treatments. The induction of apoptosis was investigated using flow cytometric analyses. The combination demonstrated a synergistic effect on MCF-7 and A549 cell lines, with a combination index (CI) value of 0.8159 ± 0.0245 and 0.6422 ± 0.0316, respectively. Further analysis using propidium iodide (PI) staining and Annexin V confirmed increased apoptosis in combination-treated cells compared to those treated with amygdalin alone. These findings suggest that the combination of amygdalin and CFS of L. rhamnosus exhibits a synergistic anti-cancer effect against MCF-7 and A549 cells. Therefore, this combination is considered sustainable, eco-friendly, and effective anti-cancer treatment. This is the first study to investigate the anti-cancer effect of amygdalin in combination with L. rhamnosus cell-free supernatant (CFS) while considering its potential for environmental sustainability. Further research in a xenograft animal model is warranted to validate these findings.