SCIENTIFIC TOPIC: STUDY OF SOME ARMENIAN HERBAL’S ANTICANCER ACTIVITY.

During the interview head of the group Nikolay Avtandilyan: researcher in YSU, Faculty of Biology, Research Institute of Biology and Assistant in Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology and the members presented the significance, importance and the purpose of application of the scientific topic. Scientific group consists of 5 young researchers: PhD in Biological sciences, senior researcher Sahakyan Naira, researcher Ginovyan Mikayel, junior researcher Javrushyan Hayarpi and PhD student Mamikonyan Anahit PhD student.

Before turning to the scientific topic, group leader presented relevence of the theme and mentioned that breast cancer has high incidence and mortality rates among the women in the Republic of Armenia. Since modern medicine has no effective cure for cancer, there is an urgent need to find potent agents or their combinations whether natural or synthetic, which will allow to effectively fight against these malignancies. Armenia has large diversity of flora, which is not properly explored for discovery of new biologically active extracts or compounds with promising anticancer therapeutic value. Anticancer action of herbal extracts in combination with synthetic analogs of amino acids targeting the arginase and NOS family also can be very interesting. In this project we will research the anticancer potential of Armenian herbal extracts combined with inhibitors of the L-arginine metabolic pathway enzymes against chemical carcinogen-induced breast cancer in rats. The obtained results can reveal therapeutic potential of Armenian herb extracts, and their combinations with some synthetic amino acids during breast cancer treatment.

In recent years, the use of herbal products in anticancer therapy has increased significantly, even concomitantly to conventional chemotherapeutic treatment.

Considering the narrow therapeutic window of anticancer drugs, this use increases the risk of clinically relevant herb–anticancer drug interactions. Anticancer action of herbal extracts in combination with synthetic analogs of above-mentioned amino acids also can be very interesting.

Group members underlined that the research can reveal anticancer properties of the tested Armenian herbal extracts, as well as their synergistic interactions with synthetic anticancer compounds. Therefore, the obtained results could have huge therapeutic potential taking into account that plant products can be safer, ecofriendly, low-cost, fast, simple and less toxic compared with conventional treatment methods. Moreover, the obtained results can serve as a base to use our model for determination of productive and non-cytotoxic anti-tumor concentration of anticancer agents.

Equipment and chemicals acquired within the scope of the financial support will allow to update and modernize scientific-educational laboratories of Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology.

Members of the group mentioned that the results of the project will be presented in different international scientific meetings and submitted in peer-reviewed scientific journals.