Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Toxicology and Environmental Health Sciences https://doi.org/10.1007/s13530-020-00067-1 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Anticancer and therapeutic potential of Delonix regia extract and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) against pancreatic (Panc‑1) and breast (MCF‑7) cancer cell Mobina Shameli Rajiri 1  · Mahsa Aminsalehi 2  · Mahsa Shahbandeh 3  · Ali Maleki 4,6  · Parissa Jonoubi 5  · Abdolkarim Chehregani Rad 2 Accepted: 14 August 2020 © Korean Society of Environmental Risk Assessment and Health Science 2020 Abstract Objective Delonix regia (L.) (Caesalpiniaceae) is one of the plants that have been used for centuries to prevent cancer. D. regia has been described as a strong anti-infammatory, antibacterial, and analgesic. Also, the cytotoxicity of this plant has been proved due to its favonoid compounds. Besides, silver (Ag) nanoparticles have been proved to be promising in cancer treatment. Methods The synergistic efect of medicinal plant extracts with silver antibacterial nanoparticles on cancer cell inhibition was investigated. Cytotoxic efect of D. regia extract with silver NPs on MCF-7 and Panc-1 cancer cells was investigated by cell viability analysis, morphological changes, apoptosis induction, and TUNEL assay. Results Results showed the cells treated with D. regia extract containing AgNPs exhibited a considerable reduction in viability percent in comparison with control cells. Analysis of MTT demonstrated that the IC 50 value of D. regia extract and AgNPs on both cell lines observed in 0.5 mg/mL for 24 h. The results demonstrated that the maximum inhibition of both cell lines growth was observed in 1.5 mg/L and 0.2 mg/L in the presence with D. regia and AgNPs, respectively. Also, morphological characteristics of cells indicated that D. regia extract and silver NPs induce cell death by apoptosis and it is confrmed by TUNEL assay. Conclusion Interestingly, D. regia extract and Ag NPs had no signifcant cytotoxicity against normal cells. It can be con- cluded that Delonix regia plant and silver nanoparticles have an inhibitory potential on two cancer cell lines, but in the use of synergism of D. regia extract and AgNPs, the induction of apoptosis in MCF-7 and Panc-1 was increased. Interestingly, in normal cells, no signifcant negative efect was observed as control. Keywords Delonix regia · Cytotoxic · Apoptosis · Panc-1 · MCF7 Introduction Plants have long been used to treat various diseases such as cancer due to their phytochemical and turquoise compounds [1]. Delonix regia [2] (family Caesalpiniaceae) is a large fern-like ornamental tree also known as “Royal Poinciana,” which is native to Madagascar. There are deep correlations among natural cytotoxic drugs in all cancers that must be combated by new anticancer drugs [3, 4]. D. regia is known as a tree with antioxidant activity for many medicinal com- pounds including favonoids, anthocyanins, bioactive sec- ondary metabolites, and so on [5]. The leaves of the D. regia plant contain wealthy content of lupeol and β-sitosterol. On the other hand, the documents survey reticulated that D. regia bark is full of β-sitosterol, saponins, alkaloids, * Mahsa Aminsalehi a.mahsa@sci.basu.ac.ir 1 Lantern Research Group, Karaj, Iran 2 Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran 3 Young Research and Elite Club, Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran 4 Photonics Lab, Physics College, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran 5 Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran 6 Physics Department, University of Ottawa, 25 Templeton St., Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada