The Effect of Cortex betulae Extract on Various Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines
Abstract
Due to the heterogeneity of cancer, current treatment options include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgical intervention. These treatments have shown to be effective but can also be detrimental to the patient by yielding various negative side effects. In recent years, researchers have begun to experiment with a variety of natural substances to examine their cytotoxic effects and to ensure that healthy, noncancerous cells thrive during and after exposure. In past studies, researchers have shown that Betula species offer various biological activities, such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects.
This study investigates the effects of ethanol-extracted Birch bark, Betula pendula (dried), on MCF-7, BT-483, HCC-38, and HTB-26 breast cancer cell lines with MCF-12A and MCF-12F healthy breast tissue cell lines. The MCF-7 cells were hormonal-positive metastatic, and the BT-483 cells were hormonal-positive primary. Along with the HCC-38 cell which were triple-negative primary, and the HTB-26 triple-negative metastatic. Each cell line was exposed to a range of diluted concentration gradients from 1000 µg/mL to 1 µg/mL of betulin extract in respective cell media. After the 48-hour incubation, cell viability was quantified with the absorbances from a MTS Assay. The quantified data was analyzed by a series of 2-sample T-tests with a Bonferroni correction. The results support the hypothesis that betulin extract produces a statistically significant cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7, BT-483, and HCC-38 cell lines and mitogenic effects on the MCF-12A cells with an optimum concentration range of 50 – 100 µg/mL. Thus, betulin extract may be a viable and effective naturopathic treatment option for breast cancer.
Keywords
Breast Cancer, Betula species, hormonal-positive, triple-negative, cytotoxic effects, metastatic, primary
The Effect of Cortex betulae Extract on Various Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines
CLC Ballroom
Due to the heterogeneity of cancer, current treatment options include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgical intervention. These treatments have shown to be effective but can also be detrimental to the patient by yielding various negative side effects. In recent years, researchers have begun to experiment with a variety of natural substances to examine their cytotoxic effects and to ensure that healthy, noncancerous cells thrive during and after exposure. In past studies, researchers have shown that Betula species offer various biological activities, such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects.
This study investigates the effects of ethanol-extracted Birch bark, Betula pendula (dried), on MCF-7, BT-483, HCC-38, and HTB-26 breast cancer cell lines with MCF-12A and MCF-12F healthy breast tissue cell lines. The MCF-7 cells were hormonal-positive metastatic, and the BT-483 cells were hormonal-positive primary. Along with the HCC-38 cell which were triple-negative primary, and the HTB-26 triple-negative metastatic. Each cell line was exposed to a range of diluted concentration gradients from 1000 µg/mL to 1 µg/mL of betulin extract in respective cell media. After the 48-hour incubation, cell viability was quantified with the absorbances from a MTS Assay. The quantified data was analyzed by a series of 2-sample T-tests with a Bonferroni correction. The results support the hypothesis that betulin extract produces a statistically significant cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7, BT-483, and HCC-38 cell lines and mitogenic effects on the MCF-12A cells with an optimum concentration range of 50 – 100 µg/mL. Thus, betulin extract may be a viable and effective naturopathic treatment option for breast cancer.