Enhancing the effectiveness of paclitaxel with stigmasterol bioactive compounds for cancer treatment

Abstract

This study examines the anticancer activity of stigmasterol bioactive compounds combined with paclitaxel. Drug resistance and high toxicity in chemotherapy present a challenge in treating cancer. However, no study has reported the combination therapy of SS with PTX up to now. We evaluated the potential effects of stigmasterol (SS) combined with Paclitaxel (PTX) on cell viability and apoptosis in liver cancer (HepG2) and normal liver (AML 12) cells. The SS showed the highest cytotoxic effects on HepG2 cells (IC₅₀= 117.75 µg/ml) compared to PTX (IC₅₀= 294.59 µg/ml); however, SS and PTX did not affect normal cells, and SS caused higher apoptotic activity in the sub-G1 phase in HepG2 cells after being treated with SS alone compared to other treatments. In combination therapy for both cells, PTX: SS significantly increased cell viability (IC₅₀ of 464.44 and 1056.44 µg/ml for HepG2 and AML 12, respectively) that differed from the drug alone and the compound, confirming that the PTX combined with SS did not enhance cytotoxic performance against HepG2 cell lines. However, this study found that PTX: SS could reduce the side effects arising from the treatment with PTX. This research indicates that SS is a potential anticancer agent for liver cancer. Furthermore, the current study introduces a novel synergistic therapy that can target various cell lines or enhance the concentration of both SS and PTX to investigate the delivery technologies of both compounds.