Exploring the Antitumor Efficacy of PEGylated Liposomes Loaded with Licorice Extract for Cancer Therapy

Title:Exploring the Antitumor Efficacy of PEGylated Liposomes Loaded with Licorice Extract for Cancer Therapy

Volume: 24

Author(s): Zeinab Azizi Haghighat, Aliakbar Safekordi, Mehdi Ardjmand and Azim Akbarzadeh*

Affiliation:

• Department of Pilot Nanobiotechnology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: Background: Glycyrrhizic Acid (GA), a compound derived from licorice, has exhibited promising anticancer properties against several cancer types, including Prostate Cancer (PCa) and Gastric Cancer (GCa).

Objective: This study has introduced a novel approach involving the encapsulation of GA and Licorice extract (Lic) into Polyethylene Glycol Liposomes (PEG-Lip) and assessed their efficacy against AGS (human gastric cancer) and PC-3 (human prostate cancer) cells, marking the first report of this endeavor.

Methods: We synthesized GA-loaded PEG-Lip (GA PEG-Lip) and Lic-loaded PEG-Lip (Lic PEG-Lip) through the reverse-phase evaporation method.

Results: Characterization of these liposomal formulations revealed their size, drug encapsulation, and loading efficiencies to be 110 ± 2.05 nm, 117 ± 1.24 nm; 61 ± 0.81%, 34 ± 0.47%; and 8 ± 0.41% and 4.6 ± 0.21%, respectively. Importantly, the process has retained the chemical structure of both GA and Lic. Furthermore, GA and Lic have been released from the PEG-Lip formulations in a controlled manner. In our experiments, both nanoformulations exhibited enhanced cytotoxic effects against AGS and PC-3 cells. Notably, GA PEG-Lip outperformed Lic PEG-Lip, reducing the viability of PC-3 and AGS cells by 12.5% and 15.9%, respectively.

Conclusion: These results have been corroborated by apoptosis assays, which have demonstrated GA PEG-Lip and Lic PEG-Lip to induce stronger apoptotic effects compared to free GA and Lic on both PC-3 and AGS cells. This study has underscored the potential of encapsulating GA and Lic in PEG-Lip as a promising strategy to augment their anticancer efficacy against prostate and gastric cancers.

Cite this article as:

Haghighat Azizi Zeinab, Safekordi Aliakbar, Ardjmand Mehdi and Akbarzadeh Azim*, Exploring the Antitumor Efficacy of PEGylated Liposomes Loaded with Licorice Extract for Cancer Therapy, Current Cancer Drug Targets 2024; 24 () . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0115680096292153240416115744