Date of Defense
12-11-2025 10:00 AM
Location
F3 - 023
Document Type
Thesis Defense
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Cellular and Molecular Biology
College
College of Science
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Dr. Asma Al Menhali
Keywords
Breast cancer, Triple-negative breast cancer, Berberine, Piperine, Apoptosis Phytotherapeutic, Combination.
Abstract
Massive applications were implemented to limit the risks of breast cancer, especially for the aggressive and treatment-resistant subtype triple-negative breast cancer that pose substantial obstacles for conventional approaches; therefore, natural substances have come to light as potential alternatives for anticancer therapy, especially in aggressive subtypes such as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In this respect, berberine (barberry) and piperine (black pepper) are natural substances found in plants that have received extensive attention for their role as phytotherapeutic agents. Berberine has shown anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. Piperine is known to improve the bioavailability of other medications and has its own anticancer effects. In cancer research, their combination is a potential technique since it can target several molecular pathways, make treatments more effective, and provide a low-toxicity substitute or alternative to standard treatments. Hence, this dissertation seeks to provide insight into the powerful activity of berberine and piperine in combined against triple-negative breast cancer in vitro. regarding this, berberine and piperine were individually compared to their combination, indicating that the combined treatment had far stronger cytotoxic effects on MDA-MB-231 and SUM-159 cells than separated treatment. In the colony formation assay, cell survival was significantly lower, which showed that their ability to form colonies was severely limited and metastatic movement was totally restricted. Simultaneously, combination treatment hinder cell migration and wound closure on MDA-MB-231 cells notably; due to vigrous effect of combination treatment wound healing was slowed over the testing time period. In parallel, the combination of berberine and piperine successfully induced apoptosis in TNBC cells, as demonstrated by the activation of pro-apoptotic genes Bax, Caspase-3, along with Caspase-9, and the downregulation of the anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2. Along this promising journey, this study clarifies the beneficial impact of the berberine–piperine combination, exhibiting results from each assay reliably supporting its therapeutic potential. The findings collectively support more research on berberine and piperine as a combination treatment, highlighting their ability to tackle the issues posed by aggressive TNBC.
Included in
BERBERINE–PIPERINE CO-TREATMENT AS A POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR TRIPLE NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER: AN IN VITRO STUDY
F3 - 023
Massive applications were implemented to limit the risks of breast cancer, especially for the aggressive and treatment-resistant subtype triple-negative breast cancer that pose substantial obstacles for conventional approaches; therefore, natural substances have come to light as potential alternatives for anticancer therapy, especially in aggressive subtypes such as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In this respect, berberine (barberry) and piperine (black pepper) are natural substances found in plants that have received extensive attention for their role as phytotherapeutic agents. Berberine has shown anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. Piperine is known to improve the bioavailability of other medications and has its own anticancer effects. In cancer research, their combination is a potential technique since it can target several molecular pathways, make treatments more effective, and provide a low-toxicity substitute or alternative to standard treatments. Hence, this dissertation seeks to provide insight into the powerful activity of berberine and piperine in combined against triple-negative breast cancer in vitro. regarding this, berberine and piperine were individually compared to their combination, indicating that the combined treatment had far stronger cytotoxic effects on MDA-MB-231 and SUM-159 cells than separated treatment. In the colony formation assay, cell survival was significantly lower, which showed that their ability to form colonies was severely limited and metastatic movement was totally restricted. Simultaneously, combination treatment hinder cell migration and wound closure on MDA-MB-231 cells notably; due to vigrous effect of combination treatment wound healing was slowed over the testing time period. In parallel, the combination of berberine and piperine successfully induced apoptosis in TNBC cells, as demonstrated by the activation of pro-apoptotic genes Bax, Caspase-3, along with Caspase-9, and the downregulation of the anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2. Along this promising journey, this study clarifies the beneficial impact of the berberine–piperine combination, exhibiting results from each assay reliably supporting its therapeutic potential. The findings collectively support more research on berberine and piperine as a combination treatment, highlighting their ability to tackle the issues posed by aggressive TNBC.