Propolis nanoparticles synthesis and characterization with cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on breast cancer cells

The aim of this work was to investigate the antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of propolis on human breast cancer cells using a simple and inexpensive nanoformulation. Various methods were used to characterize the surface and morphology of propolis nanoparticles (NP-Pro), including UV-VIS, FTIR, DLS, and EDX-SEM. The cytotoxic activity of MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells was measured by XTT technique and compared with healthy cells (MCF-10A). The apoptotic effect of NP-Pro was assessed by flow cytometry using Annexin/PI. The IC50 values of NP-Pro on MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-10A cells were 13.67 ± 0.89, 17.89 ± 0.6, 29.9 ± 0.56 µg, respectively. According to these findings, the NP-Pro form we prepared was more cytotoxic on cancer cells than propolis. Cancer cells had much stronger apoptotic activity than healthy cells (p < 0.0001). In this work, NP-Pro was produced through a distinct, straightforward, and low-cost method. In summary, the NP-Pro we synthesized may be a promising potential agent for breast cancer treatment due to its specific cytotoxicity via apoptosis. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.