Investigation of protective effects of silymarine on cisplatin toxication in HepG2 cells

The history of medicinal plants is as old as human history. Although medicinal plants are used as therapeutic agents, they are also essential for the development of synthetic drugs. Today, interest in herbal therapy has increased all over the world. Silymarin (SLM), an active plant extract obtained from milk thistle (Silybummarianum) and having a flavonoid structure, has an antioxidant effect.At the same time, it has been shown in other studies that silymarin has antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic effects. Cisplatin (CP) is a chemotherapeutic agent widely used in the treatment of various cancers. It prevents the growth of cancer cells and also destroys healthy cells.Many studies are conducted to increase the anticancer effect and reduce the side effects by using herbal compounds together with chemotherapeutic drugs. Liver carcinoma cells (HepG2) were used in this study. Effects of SLM on CP intoxication in HepG2 cells were investigated using MTT method (3-4,5-dimethyl-thiazolyl-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide), comet (single cell gel electrophoresis) and micronucleus test method. In the study, cytotoxicity of SLM and CP in HepG2 cells was determined by MTT method and the cell viability effect was examined at different concentrations. Subsequently, genotoxicity studies were carried out by performing the comet method and micronucleus test with the combination of SLM with CP. To determine the cytotoxicity of SLM on HepG2 cells, the control group, 1000 - 500 - 250 - 150 and 75 µg / mL doses were used. The values found by scanning at 540 nm with a microplate reader were expressed as percentage (%). LD0 value of SLM was found to be 75 µg / mL. While cell viability increased with increasing doses of SLM, cell viability decreased as the dose decreased. LD50 value of CP in HepG2 cells was found as 65.6 µg / mL. Groups; The control group was planned as SLM (LD0) group, CP group (LD50) and SLM + CP (LD50 + LD0) group. Comet and micronucleus tests were studied to determine genotoxicity after 24 hours of application. It increased genotoxicity because CP increased toxicity by causing DNA damage in HepG2 cells, LD0 dose of SLM decreased genotoxicity resulting from CP toxicity. Thus, SLM is thought to have DNA protective properties.