Antiproliferative effects of Curcumin plus Centchroman in MCF-7 and MDA MB-231 cells

Abstract

Cancer co-chemotherapy involves the advantages of lowered individual drug doses with minimal chances of development of resistance. We investigated whether low (1-5µM) and high (10-50µM) doses of Curcumin (CUR) synergize with putative anti-breast cancer agent Centchroman (CC) in vitro. ER+ve MCF-7 and ER–ve MDA MB-231 Human Breast Cancer Cells (HBCCs) were employed for cytotoxicity assays and ROS generation studies. Normal Human Gingival Fibroblasts (hGF) demonstrate the safety of administered drugs. Drugs alone (1-25µM CC; 1-50µM CUR) show dose-dependent cytotoxicity on HBCCs but are non-toxic to hGF. 1-20µM CC plus 1-5µM CUR display absence of synergy. 20µM CUR plus CC at IC50 doses of ~10/20µM in MCF-7/MDA MB-231 cells respectively displays additive effect. Additionally, CUR at IC50 dose (~35µM) plus CC at 5µM in MCF-7 cells and 10µM in MDA MB-231 respectively display the reduction of IC50 of CC as a ROS mediated combinatorial effect.