GC–MS analysis of Ferula asafoetida oil and Cytotoxicity and Anticancer Evaluation of its PEG-coated Chitosan Nanoformulation

In the present research work phytochemical analysis of Ferula asafoetida oil and the cytotoxicity study of its PEG-coated chitosan nanoformulation were performed. Total 20 compounds was found in in GC-MS analysis of Ferula asafoetida oils and out of which galbanic acid, ferulic acid, and guaiol was reported to have a therapeutic potential on cancerous cells in literature. Further, 3² factorial design was used to optimize the nanoformulation to attain lowest particle size and maximum entrapment efficiency. The amount of chitosan and PEG were independent factors while dependent factors were particle size and entrapment efficiency. The optimized Ferula asafoetida oil encapsulated nanoformulation (FAOCN) has a particle size of 532.31 nm and 50.81% entrapment efficiency. Moreover, Ferula asafoetida oil and optimized FAOCN has shown significant cytotoxicity property against prostate cancer (PC3), lung cancer (A549) and liver cancer (MIAPACA) cell lines with IC 50 value 28.40 μg/ml, 12.07 μg/ml, 9.72 μg/ml, 9.76 μg/ml and 47.40 μg/ml, 16.63 μg/ml, 13.78 μg/ml, 18.13 μg/ml, respectively. Cytotoxic property of PEG-coated nanoformulations of Ferula asafoetida oil attributed to faster diffusion by better permeation. Ferula asafoetida oil and FAOCN have a promising cytotoxic and anticancer potential against prostate cancer, lung cancer, and liver cancer by owning the presence of therapeutically active compounds which synergistically act via multiple protective mechanisms.