Anticancer potentials of metformin loaded coconut oil nanoemulsion on MCF-7, HepG2 and HCT-116 cell lines
Hadil Faris Alotaibi, El‐Sayed Khafagy, Amr S. Abu Lila, Haifa F. Alotaibe, Serag Eldin I. Elbehairi, Ashwag S. Alanazi, Mohammad Y. Alfaifi, Jawaher Abdullah Alamoudi, Sarah Salem Alamrani, Fatma Alzahraa Mokhtar
Abstract
In order to load metformin in a nano formula and evaluate the produced nano form towards cancer cells, metformin was loaded on natural carrier coconut oil. The formed metformin-loaded coconut oil nanoemulsion was characterized by Zeta potential, particle size, drug content, drug release, and drug stability. The formed nanoemulsion was evaluated towards MCF-7, HepG2, and HCT-116 cell lines. Cell cycle analysis and apoptosis mechanism were studied. The nanoemulsion was created using deionized water, 1.5% Span 20, 1.5% Tween 80, 1.5% coconut oil, and 0.5% Metformin in an ultrasonicator to produce a homogenous solution. The anticancer activities of the metformin-loaded coconut nanoemulsion were highly improved compared to non-formulated metformin with IC50s of 8.3 ± 0.1 µg/ml, 12 ± 1.5 µg/ml, 2.685 ± 0.3 µg/ml for MCF-7, HepG2, and HCT-116 cell lines, respectively. There was a 76.5 ± 2.3 and 78.3 ± 3.2% increase in the number of apoptotic cells of MCF-7 and HepG2 cells after nanoemulsion treatment. This formula may be considered a new anticancer medication.