Abstract
Traditional medicines or herbal medicinal compounds are being increasingly considered as useful complementary and alternative treatments for cancer. A large number of in vitro and in vivo studies have reported the beneficial effects of herbal medicines alone and in combination with conventional therapeutic large number of in vitro and in vivo. We developed a polyherbal formulation Swastharakshak® (SR033), exhibiting anti-tumorigenic property. Although, majorly 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) resulted in necrosis of HeLa cells, however in combination with SR033, the majority of cells underwent apoptosis with an increase of 30%, SR033 alone was considered as an experimental control. Moreover, 5FU and PTX resistance were reversed by SR033 with 2.5×103 and 0.17×103 fold, respectively, in resistant HeLa-R cells. We observed a 2 fold decrease in free radicals when treated with SR033 as compared to untreated controls; however, 1.2 fold decrease was observed in SR033 + 5FU groups in comparison to 5FU alone.These results demonstrated that SR033 acts synergistically with 5FU, along with chemo-protective and 5FU resistance reversal property. Hence, SR033 is a potential herbal formulation that could be used effectively with 5FU as a combination therapy for cancer.