Effects of Indigo and Red Clover Extracts on MCF-7 Cancer Cells and MCF-12A Non-cancerous Cells

Extracts from different types of plants can be utilized for their medicinal properties. Indigo and red clover contain anticancer compounds due to their specific bioactive molecules such as trisindoline, polyphenols, flavonoids, flavanols, and tannins in indigo, and the isoflavones biochanin A, daidzein, genistein, and formononetin in red clover. It is important to consider the cytotoxic effects of these natural compounds on normal human cells as well as cancer cells to determine if these extracts could be implemented therapeutically in the future. For this research, an MTS assay was utilized to test the effects of red clover and indigo extracts on the metabolism of both MCF-7 breast cancer cells and MCF-12A non-cancerous breast cells to determine if there is a significant difference in the cytotoxic effects of these compounds on cancer cells versus non-cancer cells. While indigo, red clover, and a mixture of indigo and red clover all appeared to exhibit inhibition on the MCF-7 cells at 1000 µg/mL (p= 1.16 x 10^-5 to 0.000286), the 1:1 mixture of indigo and red clover yielded a mitogenic effect on the MCF-12A cells (p = 0.000288 to 3.65 x 10^-5), thus, demonstrating a synergistic relationship.