Anti-cancer activity and behavior of specific homeopathic formulations in pancreatic cancer cell lines Panc1 and Miapaca2

Abstract

Homeopathy medicines is a form of Complementary and Alternative medicine (CAM) and natural form of medicine that works on three principles: individual medicines, like cures like and minimum dose.which given as a supportive therapy in pancreatic cancer. Here, the cytotoxicity of specific homeopathic formulations Iodium 30C, Cholesterinum 30C, Condurango 30C, Bismuth 30C, Hydrastis 30C in Panc1 and Miapaca2 cell lines was assessed. Additionally, The effect of selected homeopathic formulations on the expression of cancer-related genes vegf and mmp9 was also measured. Finally, the effect of these formulations on the generation of tumor associated macrophages in vitro from peripheral blood monocytes using tumor supernatant was analysed. The results show that exposure to higher dilutions of homeopathic treatments led to high cell viability and low cytotoxicity. Homeopathic formulation of Condurango and Hydrastis in the potency of 30C at 1:25 dilution showed alterations in the expression of vegf and mmp9 genes. Flow cytometry analysis showed the surface expression of CD14, MHC-II and CD206 were enhanced after macrophage differentiation by tumor supernatant. In conclusion, the data suggests that the tested formulations may have anticancer activity in pancreatic cancer and they have the potential for use as complementary anti-cancer usage. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancers worldwide due to its poor diagnosis and prognosis.