Cytotoxic Effect of Syzgium aromaticum Extract and Gemcitabine on Human Cervical Cancer Cell Line

In fact, cervical cancer is one of the most common carcinomas in the world among women and is highly radioresistant and chemo-resistant. For locally advanced disease, radiation is mixed with low-dose chemotherapy; however, this modality often results in severe toxicity. Prevention of cancer through dietary intervention recently has received an increasing interest, and dietary agents have not only become significant chemopreventive, but also therapeutic agents. Emerging evidences suggest that cancer preventative agents (such as clove, Syzygium aromaticum) might be mixed with chemotherapy or radiotherapy for the more potential treatment of cancer. In this study, we monitored that treatment of human cervical carcinoma cell line, HeLa with ethanolic clove extract in combination with gemcitabine synergistically led to a significant dose-dependent reduction in cell viability. It is noteworthy that application of clove extract increased the efficacy of gemcitabine and interestingly, it was found to be minimally toxic to normal cells. Besides, these results provide new insights into the probable involvement of a novel mechanism in the synergistic impact of this putative combination, ultimately, leading to an effective modality in the treatment of cervical cancer.