Type of Proposal
Oral presentation
Faculty
Faculty of Science
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Siyaram Pandey
Proposal
The toxicity and limited success of many chemotherapies used in modern medicine to treat cancer has created a large demand for safer, more effective treatments. In many forms of traditional medicine, whole plant extracts have been safely used to treat a wide range of diseases, however there is limited scientific evidence that explains the extent to which such extracts are effective and how they work. Recent screening of both turmeric and rooibos extracts suggest that these natural health products (NHPs) have anti-proliferative properties in a range of human lymphoma cell lines. WST-1 assays were used to evaluate the effects of turmeric and rooibos extracts (water and ethanolic) on the metabolic viability of KM-H2 human Hodgkin lymphoma cells. Results showed ethanolic and cold water extracts of both turmeric and rooibos to be most effective in reducing cell viability in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Trypan blue exclusion assays were further used to determine if the reduction in viability corresponded to a decrease in the proliferation and/or an increase in the death of these cells. The extracts utilized in this assay were applied to cells both individually and in combination to determine the existence of any synergistic effects. Analysis of the growth curves produced from this data will demonstrate the time and dose required for the optimal efficacy of these extracts in reducing the viability of KM-H2 cells. Future work will include discovering the mode of anti-cancer action, assessing whether or not the effective extracts are selective (non-toxic to normal cells), and determining the efficacy in animal models. If these NHPs prove to be both safe and efficacious through the duration of the pre-clinical evaluation, they may improve both current chemotherapy treatment options and the quality of life for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.
Start Date
29-3-2016 10:00 AM
End Date
29-3-2016 11:20 AM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
The anti-proliferative effect of turmeric and rooibos extracts on human Hodgkin lymphoma cells
The toxicity and limited success of many chemotherapies used in modern medicine to treat cancer has created a large demand for safer, more effective treatments. In many forms of traditional medicine, whole plant extracts have been safely used to treat a wide range of diseases, however there is limited scientific evidence that explains the extent to which such extracts are effective and how they work. Recent screening of both turmeric and rooibos extracts suggest that these natural health products (NHPs) have anti-proliferative properties in a range of human lymphoma cell lines. WST-1 assays were used to evaluate the effects of turmeric and rooibos extracts (water and ethanolic) on the metabolic viability of KM-H2 human Hodgkin lymphoma cells. Results showed ethanolic and cold water extracts of both turmeric and rooibos to be most effective in reducing cell viability in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Trypan blue exclusion assays were further used to determine if the reduction in viability corresponded to a decrease in the proliferation and/or an increase in the death of these cells. The extracts utilized in this assay were applied to cells both individually and in combination to determine the existence of any synergistic effects. Analysis of the growth curves produced from this data will demonstrate the time and dose required for the optimal efficacy of these extracts in reducing the viability of KM-H2 cells. Future work will include discovering the mode of anti-cancer action, assessing whether or not the effective extracts are selective (non-toxic to normal cells), and determining the efficacy in animal models. If these NHPs prove to be both safe and efficacious through the duration of the pre-clinical evaluation, they may improve both current chemotherapy treatment options and the quality of life for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.