Plant‐Derived Exosome‐Like Nanoparticles from Elettaria cardamomum Inhibit Triple‐Negative Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Abstract Triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2 expression, rendering endocrine and HER2‐targeted therapies ineffective. As a result, chemotherapy remains the primary treatment, though with limited success. Micro‐vesicles, particularly exosomes, facilitate cell‐to‐cell communication and impact various physiological and pathological processes. Recent research has highlighted the therapeutic potential of plant‐derived micro‐vesicles (MVs), which contain bioactive molecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and metabolites with anticancer, antioxidative, and anti‐inflammatory properties. This study characterized micro‐vesicles isolated from Elettaria cardamomum seeds (ECS MVs) using techniques such as SEM, TEM, DLS, AFM, NTA, and zeta potential analysis. Exosomes from 1 g of E. cardamom extract had an average size of 180 ± 98.1 nm, yielding 4.8 × 10⁷ particles/mL as per NTA. GC–MS identified key phytocompounds, whereas the Bradford assay and SDS‐PAGE confirmed protein quantification and molecular weight distribution. The anticancer effects of ECS MVs were examined on TNBC cell lines (MDA‐MB‐231 and 4T1) using colony formation, MTT, wound healing, and ROS assays. FACS analysis identified cell cycle arrest and trypan blue staining quantified cell viability. This is the first report demonstrating the anticancer potential of plant‐derived exosome‐like nanoparticles from E. cardamom.