Novel highly effective combination of naturally-derived quercetin and ascorbyl palmitate and their nanoformulations as an advancement therapy of cancer

In the present study, we investigated the anticancer effect of a novel drug combination using nanoformulations of Quercetin (QURnp) and Ascorbyl palmitate (APnp) in comparison with native combination of QUR and AP on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC)-bearing mice. The results indicated that combined treatment with QURnp and APnp significantly reduced tumor growth, augmented the antioxidant status and extremely reduced lipid peroxidation. Combination of QURnp and APnp downregulated p-STAT3 and HIF-1α expression as well as induced cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 with a marked increase in sub-G1% resulting in apoptosis in EAC cells. Comet assay displayed an increase in DNA damage due to the combination of QURnp and APnp. Furthermore, the present novel combination of QURnp with APnp was superior in the destruction of mitochondrial membrane. The immunohistochemistry results revealed that a combination of QURnp and APnp reduced the expression of proliferative marker Ki-67 and the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2. Our findings suggest that combination therapy of QURnp and APnp is an effective advancement for cancer treatment as it revealed conspicuous devastation for cancer cells rather than the solitary form of each drug whether native or nanoformulated one.