In vitro Cytotoxic Effect of Biosurfactant Extracted from Bifidobacterium spp. on MCF-7 and WRL68 Cell Lines

Biosurfactants are surface active molecules which consist mainly of two parts, hydrophobic and hydrophilic. According to their amphoteric property, and different characteristics of cancer and normal cell plasma membrane, they can exert specific anti-cancer effects. Hence,  these compounds are proposed to be widely applied in the treatment of diseases such as cancer.

Assessing the ability of  Bifidobacterium spp. For synthesis of  Biosurfactant and evaluate its cytotoxicity on WRL68 normal cell lines as well as MCF-7 cell lines.

Bifidobacterium spp. Were isolated from Breast human milk samples from healthy mothers and normal pregnancy conditions, and mothers with mastitis were excluded. The Biosurfactant was extracted and purified using the ion-exchange chromatography method. A total of 4 compounds was identified and the cytoxicity evaluated against the MCF-7 cancer cell line and WRL68 normal cell line by MTT.

four biosurfactant compounds were isolated via ion-exchange chromatography, the IC50 was measured for each compound, and each compound showed different cytotoxic activity toward MCF-7 and WRL68 normal cell line to each gel fraction. Compound No.4 was coined to be the best choice among the others, as it showed the most inhibitory effect on MCF-7 with the lowest effect on WRL68.

isolated  Bifidobacterium spp. Has ability to produce at least four new biosurfactant compounds varied in their activity and toxicity. One of these compounds exerts specific anti-tumor activity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Although complementary studies are needed, the isolated biosurfactant can be used in combination with current modalities to increase the efficacy of treatment in breast cancer.