Associate Professor Merrimack College North andover, Massachusetts
Body of Abstract: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease. Among all types of cancers, female breast cancer has been the second most deadly cancer after lung and bronchus cancer. The risk factors that induce cancer development can be categorized as modifiable and nonmodifiable factors. While genetic background, age, race, or gender are not modifiable, a healthy lifestyle can be chosen. However, the financial status of families can limit their potential to adopt a new way of life. Plant metabolites are used for millennia for medicinal purposes and can be used to reduce the risk of cancer development with lower cost. This study focused on the antioxidant and anticancer properties of curcumin, ursolic acid, crocetin, the key metabolites in turmeric, rosemary, and saffron, respectively. Two lines of breast cancer cells including MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 were exposed to 0.05 mM of the above mentioned metabolites for up to 24 hours. The impact of these drugs was studied using cell viability and cell integrity assays. The results showed that the cell viability and cell integrity rate of both cell lines upon exposure to all drugs was significantly reduced. The impact of these drugs on MCF-7 cells was more significant than MDA-MB- 231 cells. The MCF-7 cells showed up to 80% cell death after 24 hours exposure to ursolic acid and curcumin and 50% upon exposure to crocetin. The expression of BRCA2 and actin was significantly reduced upon exposure to the drugs compared to the control group. This study showed that the effectiveness of ursolic acid and curcumin in reducing the growth of breast cancer cells was more significant than crocetin. The findings of this project provide invaluable insight to the effectiveness of plant metabolites in targeting breast cancer cells and reducing their development.