Echinacea is used for its immunostimulating properties and may have a role in modulating adverse immune effects of chemotherapy (i.e., use of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU); fluorouracil and its immunosuppressive effect). Patients may seek herbal remedies such as Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia and Echinacea purpurea) for immune stimulation. Echinacea extracts have been prescribed to supplement cancer chemotherapy for their immune-supportive effects; however, the extracts may also influence tumourgenesis. Our study aimed to determine the proliferative effect of the ethanolic blend of E. angustifolia and E. purpurea on various cancer cervical and bile duct cell lines, including HELA and QBC-939. Various cancer cells (HeLa and QBC-939) and human vein epithelial cells (HUVEC) were treated with the Echinacea blend sample that was evaporated and reconstituted in Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). As the extract concentration of Echinacea was increased from 12.5 μg/mL to 25 μg/mL, there was an increase in cell inhibition up to 100%, which then reduced to 90% over the next three concentrations, 50 μg/mL, 100 μg/mL, and 200 μg/mL, in HeLa cells; further inhibitory effects were observed in QBC-939 cells, from 9% inhibition at a concentration of 25 μg/mL up to 37.96% inhibition at 100 μg/mL concentration. Moreover, this is the first study to report the growth-promoting effects of this Echinacea blend in HUVEC, up to 800% at a dose concentration of 200 μg/mL. Previous studies have suggested that chicoric acid of Echinacea spp. is responsible for the increased cell growth. The results of this study show that the hydroethanolic extract of Echinacea herbal medicine promotes the growth of HeLa cells and QBC-939 cancer cell proliferation, and may interfere with cancer treatment (i.e., chemotherapy drugs such as 5-fluorouracil and Cisplatin (DDP)). However, the Echinacea blend shows potential in neurodegenerative diseases with growth-promoting effects in HUVEC. Further animal trials (in vivo effect) measuring dose toxicology are necessary to demonstrate the interaction of this blend with body and tumor growth, and also any positive synergistic or adverse interaction with chemotherapeutic drugs listed, so as to confirm the current observation and epithelial tissue growth or regeneration in a neurodegenerative disease model.
Keywords: Asteraceae; Echinacea angustifolia; Echinacea purpurea; HeLa; Human vein epithelial cells; Neurodegenerative diseases.