Cytotoxic Activities of Certain Medicinal Plants on Different Cancer Cell Lines

Deniz Uğur

Hatice Güneş

Fatma Güneş

Ramazan Mammadov

^{Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Muğla, Turkey}

^{Trakya University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Edirne, Turkey}

^{Pamukkale University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Denizli, Turkey}

* Address for Correspondence: Phone: +90 534 282 11 33 E-mail:rt.ude.um@senugecitah

Received 2016 Oct 26; Accepted 2017 Feb 2.

Abstract

Objectives:

In recent years, the use of plants for the prevention and treatment of cancer is gaining more attention due to their diverse range of phytochemical constituents and fewer adverse effects. In this study, four medicinal plant species from the Kars province of Turkey were investigated for their cytotoxic potential against six different cancer cell lines and one normal cell line.

Materials and Methods:

MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-dipenyltetrazolium bromide] assay was performed to assess cytotoxic activity and apoptotic effect was determined using flow cytometry and caspase-3 analyses.

Results:

Significant cytotoxicity (≥70%) was observed with the leaf extract of Artemisia absinthium on A-549, CCC-221, K-562, MCF-7, PC-3 cells, whereas seed extracts caused significant cytotoxicity (≥70%) on CCC-221, K-562, MCF-7, PC-3 cells. Selective cytotoxicity was obtained with leaf extract on A-549 and K-562 cells; and with seed extract on K-562, MCF-7 and PC-3 cells compared with normal Beas-2B cells. The levels of cytotoxicity for both extracts were time- and dose-dependent at lower concentrations. Moreover, selective cytotoxicity (78%) was detected on A-549 cells with the seed extract of Plantago major. Cytotoxicity of extracts from Hyoscyamus niger and Amaranthus retrosa ranged between 10% and 30%.

Conclusion:

A. absinthium extracts and P. major seed extract have potential for development as therapeutic agents for cytotoxicity on certain cancer cells following further investigation.

Keywords: Cytotoxicity, cancer cells, medicinal plants, apoptosis, Artemisia absinthium

Objectives:

Materials and Methods:

MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-dipenyltetrazolium bromide] assay was performed to assess cytotoxic activity and apoptotic effect was determined using flow cytometry and caspase-3 analyses.

Results:

Conclusion:

A. absinthium extracts and P. major seed extract have potential for development as therapeutic agents for cytotoxicity on certain cancer cells following further investigation.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Scientific Research Projects (BAP) of Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University under project number 13/82.

Footnotes

Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

References

1. Siegel R, Naishadham D, Jemal ACancer statistics, 2012. CA Cancer J Clin. 2012;62:10–29.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
2. Huang T, Gong WH, Li XC, Zou CP, Jiang GJ, Li XH, Feng DPInduction of apoptosis by a combination of paclitaxel and carboplatin in the presence of hyperthermia. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2012;13:81–85.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
3. Kintzios ETerrestrial plant-derived anticancer agents and plant species used in anticancer research. Crit Rev Plant Sci. 2006;25:79–113.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
4. Pandi M, Kumaran RS, Choi YK, Kim HJ, Muthumary JIsolation and detection of taxol, an anticancer drug produced from Lasiodiplodia theobromae, an endophytic fungus of the medicinal plant Morinda citrifolia. Afr J Biotechnol. 2011;10:1428–1435.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
5. Park HJ, Kim MJ, Ha E, Chung JHApoptotic effect of hesperidin through caspase3 activation in human colon cancer cells, SNU-C4. Phytomedicine. 2008;15:147–151.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
6. Mans DR, da Rocha AB, Schwartsmann GAnti-cancer drug discovery and development in Brazil: targeted plant collection as a rational strategy to acquire candidate anti-cancer compounds. Oncologist. 2000;5:185–198.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
7. Fletcher JCCoordination of cell proliferation and cell fate decisions in the angiosperm shoot apical meristem. Bioessays. 2002;24:27–37.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
8. Lucas DM, Still PC, Pérez LB, Grever MR, Kinghorn ADPotential of plantderived natural products in the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma. Curr Drug Targets. 2010;11:812–822.[Google Scholar]
9. Kerr JF, Wyllie AH, Currie ARApoptosis: a basic biological phenomenon with wide-ranging implications in tissue kinetics. Br J Cancer. 1972;26:239–257.[Google Scholar]
10. Frank SADynamics of cancer, p.90, Princeton University Press. New Jersey. 2007.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
11. Bora KS, Sharma AThe genus Artemisia: a comprehensive review. Pharm Biol. 2011;49:101–109.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
12. Gordanian B, Behbahani M, Carapetian J, Fazilati MIn vitro evaluation of cytotoxic activity of flower, leaf, stem and root extracts of five Artemisia species. Res Pharm Sci. 2014;9:91–96.[Google Scholar]
13. Gálvez M, Martín-Cordero C, López-Lázaro M, Cortés F, Ayuso MJ. Cytotoxic effect of Plantago spp. on cancer cell lines. J Ethnopharmacol. 2003;88:125–130.[PubMed]
14. Avcı M. Çeşitlilik ve Endemizm açısından Türkiye’nin bitki örtüsü. Istanbul Üniversitesi Geography Department. Geography Journal. 2005;13:27–55.[PubMed]
15. Güneş F, Özhatay NAn ethnobotanical study from Kars (Eastern) Turkey. BioDiCon. 2011;4:30–41.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
16. Kendir G, Güvenç AEtnobotanik ve Türkiye’de yapılmış etnobotanik çalışmalara genel bir bakış Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eczacılık Fakültesi Dergisi. 2010;30:49–80.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
17. Tuzlacı E, İşbilen DFA, Bulut GTurkish folk medicinal plants, VIII: Lalapaşa (Edirne) Marmara Pharm J. 2010;14:47–52.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
18. Shafi G, Hasan TN, Syed NA, Al-Hazzani AA, Alshatwi AA, Jyothi A, Munshi AArtemisia absinthium (AA): a novel potential complementary and alternative medicine for breast cancer. Mol Biol Rep. 2012;39:7373–7379.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
19. Holst Hansen C, Brünner N. MTT Cell Proliferation assay, Cell Biology: A Laboratory Handbook. pp. 16-18. San Diego Academic Press. 1998.[PubMed]
20. Kumar S, Jawaid T, Dubey SD. Therapeutic Plants of Ayurveda. A Review on Anticancer. Pharmacognosy J. 2011;3:1–11.[PubMed]
21. Khazir J, Mir BA, Pilcher L, Riley DLRole of plants in anticancer drug discovery. Phytochemistry Letters. 2014;7:173–181.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
22. Hanahan D, Weinberg RAThe hallmarks of cancer. Cell. 2000;100:57–70.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
23. Emami SA, Vahdati-Mashhadian N, Vosough R, Oghazian MBThe Anticancer Activity of Five Species of Artemisia on Hep2 and HepG2 Cell Lines. Pharmacologyonline. 2009;3:327–339.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
24. Mannan A, Ahmed I, Arshad W, Asim MF, Qureshi RA, Hussain I, Mirza BSurvey of artemisinin production by diverse Artemisia species in northern Pakistan. Malaria J. 2010;9:310.[Google Scholar]
25. Ferreira JF, Luthria DL, Sasaki T, Heyerick A. Flavonoids from Artemisia annua L. as antioxidants and their potential synergism with artemisinin against malaria and cancer. Molecules. 2010;15:3135–3170.
26. Gordanian BB, Behbahani M, Carapetian J, Fazilati M. Cytotoxic effect of Artemisia absinthium L. grown at two different altitudes on human breast cancer cell line MCF7. Res Med. 2012;36:124–131.[PubMed]
27. Mammadov R. Tohumlu bitkilerde sekonder metabolitler. pp.412. Nobel Lt., Ankara. 2014.[PubMed]
28. Samuelsen AB. The traditional uses, chemical constituents and biological activities of Plantago major L. A review. J Ethnopharmacol. 2000;71:1–21.
29. Haddadian K, Haddadian K, Zahmatkash MA review of Plantago plant. Indian J Traditional Knowledge. 2014;13:681–685.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
30. Kobeasy MI, Abdel-Fatah OM, Abd El-Salam SM, Mohamed Z. E.O.M. Biochemical studies on Plantago major L. and Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L. International. J Biodiversity and Conservation. 2011;3:83–91.[PubMed]
31. Rajasekaran S, Dinesh MG, Kansrajh C, Baig FHAAmaranthus spinosus leaf extracts and its anti-inflamatory effects on cancer. Indian J Res in Pharm and Biotechnol. 2014;2:1058–1064.[PubMed][Google Scholar]
32. Begum S, Saxena B, Goyal M, Ranjan R, Joshi VB, Rao ChV, Krishnamurthy S, Sahai MStudy of anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activities of seeds of Hyoscyamus niger and isolation of a new coumarinolignan. Fitoterapia. 2010;81:178–184.[PubMed][Google Scholar]