Biogenic Selenium-Chitosan Nanocomposites Loaded with Echinacea purpurea: A Novel Eco-Friendly Anticancer Strategy

Abstract

The increased interest in natural-based therapies has fueled the creation of biocompatible nanocomposites (NCs) with strong anticancer properties. To investigate the combined anticancer activity of Echinacea purpurea extract (EC), chitosan nanoparticles (NCT), and green-synthesized selenium nanoparticles (NSe), novel NCs were created in this study. The IC50 results were 9.44±0.7 µg with inhibition 44% compared to DOX and indicated that the biogenic NCs were highly biosafe, had excellent anticancer efficacy, and were selectively lethal to cancer cells while not affecting healthy cells. These findings demonstrate how EC/NSe/NCTs can work together to create environmentally friendly, next-generation anticancer formulations that show promise as a substitute for traditional chemotherapeutics finally compared to DOX. Due to the difficulty, side effects, and high cost of chemotherapy and other treatments, we conducted this study specifically on natural products, which we hope be less expensive, hoping they would be better and have fewer side effects.