Introduction: Cancer of oral cavity is the uncontrolled expansion of damaged cell within the mouth cavity. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) chemotherapy was focused to kill the cancer cell, but it would affect the surrounding normal cells during oral cancer treatment. This study included the evaluation of chemoprotective effects of curcumin (CU), as an herbal remedy, on 5-FU-induced-cytotoxicity toward oral cancer treatment, loaded within a nanocarrier system. CU was combined with 5-FU chemotherapy as a combinational drug-delivery system to evaluate synergistic effects.
Materials and methods: Nanoformulation of CU (nano-CU) and nanoformulation of 5-FU (nano-FU) were prepared by employing homogenization with high-energy sonication. The characterizations of prepared nanoformulations were evaluated on the basis of particle size, zeta potential, and polydispersity index (PDI) values. The chemopreventive effect of nano-CU on 5-FU induced-toxicity and synergistic efficacy were optimized through different in-vitro assays.
Results: The average particle size of nano-CU and nano-FU were up to 200 nm, negatively-charged, and shown up to 4th-day control release of the drug within the acceptable concentration. IC50 value for growth inhibition was calculated as 47.89 and 26.19 μg/ml, respectively, for nano-CU and nano-FU. OCC was pretreated with nano-CU and shown the protective effect by reducing 5-FU induced-cytotoxicity by preventing normal cells through reduced viability. The DPPH-indicated fluorescence-tagged cells had quantified for antioxidant effect as it reduces intracellular reactive oxygen species level in OCC. Along with alteration in cell protein expression, Blc2, and Bax, shows enhanced apoptosis rate in OCC.
Conclusion: Nano-CU provides chemoprotective nature towards 5-FU induced-toxicity, along with synergistic effects in oral cancer treatment.
Keywords: 5-fluorouracil; cellular-toxicity; curcumin; nanocarrier; oral cancer.