Evaluation of Antitumor Activity and Hepatoprotective Effect of Mitomycin C Solubilized in Chamomile Oil Nanoemulsion

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate the antitumor activity and hepatoprotective effect of the MTC, when combined with CHAM oil nanoemulsion (NE), (CHAM-MTC) on the tumor growth. Materials/Methods: The in vitro study assessed the antineoplastic effect of CHAM-MTC on the MCF-7 breast cancer cells while the in vivo therapeutic effectiveness and toxicities of CHAM-MTC were evaluated in Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) bearing mice. One hundred female Swiss albino mice, divided equally into non-EAC group (negative control), untreated EAC group (positive control) and three EAC groups received once intraperitoneal injection of 0.2ml CHAM-NE, 0.2ml Normal Saline (NS) contained MTC (1mg/kg) and 0.2ml CHAM-NE mixed with MTC (1mg/kg), respectively. Results: The in vitro results indicated that CHAM-NE could potentiate the effect of MTC in sub-effective concentrations since the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was reduced by a factor of 21.94 when compared to the MTC-NS. The in vivo study revealed that mice treated with CHAM-MTC showed a significant increase in the median survival time (MST= 37 days) when compared to the MTC-NS treated group (MST= 29.50 days). In addition, CHAM-MTC showed protective ability against the oxidative stress and hepatic damage induced by EAC and MTC treatment. Conclusion: The combination of MTC with CHAM-NE could be valuable in enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of MTC against EAC and in eliminating MTC-induced hepatotoxicity.