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Context: Multiple drug resistance is the major obstacle to conventional chemotherapy. Silibinin, a nontoxic naturally occurring compound, has anticancer activity and can increase the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy in various cancer models.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of silibinin on enhancing the sensitivity of chemo-resistant human breast cell lines to doxorubicin (DOX) and paclitaxel (PAC).

Materials and methods: The cells were treated with silibinin (at 50 to 600 μM concentrations) and/or chemo drugs for 24 and 48 h, then cell viability and changes in oncogenic proteins were determined by MTT assay and Western blotting/RT-PCR, respectively. Flow cytometry was used to study apoptosis in the cells receiving different treatments. The antitumorigenic effects of silibinin (at 200 to 400 μM concentration) were evaluated by mammosphere assay.

Results: Silibinin exerted significant growth inhibitory effects …