Semecarpus anacardium Linn: Comparative Anticancer Activity of Nano and Conventional Formulations in Cancer Cells

Introduction: Cancer is expected to rank as the leading cause of death and the single most important barrier to high life expectancy worldwide in the 21 st century. There are several plants and plant-based drugs found to be valuable treatments in different types of cancer. Nuts of Semecarpus anacardium have been used as an anticancer medicine for thousands of years. The present study was conducted to assess and compare the anti-cancer activity of traditional and novel drug delivery of fixed oil of S. anacardium on various cancer cell lines. Materials and Methods: Fixed oil of S. anacardium was extracted with the traditional method. This fixed oil is used for the development of Bhalltaka Kshaudra and self-nano-emulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS). The cytotoxicity was tested using the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay on cancer cell lines like MCF-7 (Breast cancer cell lines), HeLa (cervical cancer cell lines), SiHa (cervical cancer cell lines), and Hep-G2 (Hepatoma cancer cell lines). Results: The result has proved that the SNEDDS loaded with S. anacardium oil (BE) has shown significant anticancer activity in MCF-7 Breast cancer lines and also in cervical cancer cell lines SiHa and HeLa. Conclusions: This has found a way to improve the efficacy of traditional plants, and further study is required to explore its potential.