Evaluating the Anti-Cancer Effects of Olive Leaf and Peppermint on Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Cells
Type of Proposal
Oral presentation
Faculty
Faculty of Science
Faculty Sponsor
Siyaram Pandey
Proposal
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, around 2 in 5 Canadians will develop a type of cancer in their lifetime. The overwhelming number of diagnoses stresses the importance of developing both an effective and safe treatment to combat the devastating effects of cancer. We are currently studying natural alternatives to current cancer therapies to determine if they are safe and effective against cancerous cells. Natural health products are being studied to assess their selective anti-cancer properties by examining their efficacy against cancerous models. This project aims to test the anti-cancer effects of olive leaf and peppermint on Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma cells, to determine the series of biological events that occur following treatment with these two extracts (both in combination and individually), and assess whether or not these extracts are toxic to non-cancerous cells. Both peppermint and olive leaf have already been shown to promote health and treat illnesses, but little research has been done to determine their anti-cancer properties, especially on lymphoma cells. In the initial screening of these extracts with WST-1 assays, water and ethanolic extracts of these natural health products were found to decrease the viability of U-937 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. Trypan blue exclusion assays were used to determine if the decrease in viability caused an increase in cell death and a decrease in proliferation. The water extracts for both natural health products were shown to increase cell death individually, but were more effective in combination. Future work includes continuing combination testing, determining the anti-cancer mode of action of these extracts, testing the toxicity of these extracts on normal cells, as well as analyzing the effectiveness of these extracts in live animal models. Studying these extracts and their effects on cancer may lead to safer alternatives to the current cancer treatments.
Start Date
29-3-2016 10:00 AM
End Date
29-3-2016 11:20 AM
Evaluating the Anti-Cancer Effects of Olive Leaf and Peppermint on Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Cells
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, around 2 in 5 Canadians will develop a type of cancer in their lifetime. The overwhelming number of diagnoses stresses the importance of developing both an effective and safe treatment to combat the devastating effects of cancer. We are currently studying natural alternatives to current cancer therapies to determine if they are safe and effective against cancerous cells. Natural health products are being studied to assess their selective anti-cancer properties by examining their efficacy against cancerous models. This project aims to test the anti-cancer effects of olive leaf and peppermint on Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma cells, to determine the series of biological events that occur following treatment with these two extracts (both in combination and individually), and assess whether or not these extracts are toxic to non-cancerous cells. Both peppermint and olive leaf have already been shown to promote health and treat illnesses, but little research has been done to determine their anti-cancer properties, especially on lymphoma cells. In the initial screening of these extracts with WST-1 assays, water and ethanolic extracts of these natural health products were found to decrease the viability of U-937 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. Trypan blue exclusion assays were used to determine if the decrease in viability caused an increase in cell death and a decrease in proliferation. The water extracts for both natural health products were shown to increase cell death individually, but were more effective in combination. Future work includes continuing combination testing, determining the anti-cancer mode of action of these extracts, testing the toxicity of these extracts on normal cells, as well as analyzing the effectiveness of these extracts in live animal models. Studying these extracts and their effects on cancer may lead to safer alternatives to the current cancer treatments.