The anticancer and free radical scavenging potential of the Unani medicine Agaricus albus L.

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Traditional Unani medicine plays a major role in maintaining health in developing countries. For ages, Unani physicians have described many Classical Unani Formulations (CUF) for their anti-cancerous action (Dāfiʻ-i-saraṭān) in the human population. These formulations contain various individual drugs which also have anticancer activity. The present study was designed to screen and compare cytotoxic and antioxidant properties of different extracts of Agaricus albus L. (A. albus), a drug used in the Unani system of medicine on human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7). Methods Cytotoxic effect was assessed using MTT assay kit and free radical scavenging activity was done by using DPPH assay. Aqueous, hydro-ethanol and methanolic extracts were used at different concentrations. Results All extracts were shown good antioxidant and cytotoxic activity. Among all extracts, maximum cytotoxic effect was observed in methanolic extract and aqueous extract at the concentration of 1,000 μg against MCF-7 cell line in comparison to paclitaxel. The maximum antioxidant activity was observed in the hydroethanolic extract at the concentration of 1,000 μg against the MCF-7 cell line in comparison to ascorbic acid. Conclusions The present study advocates, the anticancer and antioxidant property of A. albus and suggests that this drug may be used as a potential drug for cancer treatment after a successful and detailed preclinical study and clinical trial.