Enhances Phthalocyanine Mediated Photodynamic Therapy in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.

Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in women, and it is regarded as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The present study investigated phytochemical profiling, anticancer effects of methanol root extract and its enhancing effects in phthalocyanine mediated PDT on MCF-7 (ATCC HTB-22™) breast cancer cells. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-qTOF-MS) was used to identify the secondary metabolites in the crude extract. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC) of the two experimental models was established from dose response studies 24 h post-treatment with methanol root extract (25, 50, and 100 μg/ml) and ZnPcS (5, 10, 20, 40, and 60 μM) mediated PDT. The inverted microscope was used to analyze morphological changes, trypan blue exclusion assay for viability, and Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-propidium iodide (PI) for cell death mechanisms. Immunofluorescence analysis was used to investigate the qualitative expression of the Bax, p53, and caspase 3 apoptotic proteins. Experiments were performed 4 times () and SPSS version 27 software was used to analyze statistical significances. methanol root extract induced cell death in MCF-7 cells by decreasing cell viability. The combination of methanol root extract and ZnPcS mediated PDT led to a significant increase in apoptotic activities, expression of Bax, and p53 with significant decrease in cell viability. These findings pinpoint the possibility of methanol root extract of being employed as a natural antiproliferative agent in the treatment of various cancers.