Evaluation of anti-proliferative activity of Artemisia marschalliana on cancerous (MCF-7 and SW-872) and non- cancerous (HFFF) cell lines

Abstract

Introduction: The plants of Asteraceae family have been recommended in folk medicine to treat various disease due to thier active secondary metabolites. The genus Artemisia possess various species based on important pharmacologic effects especially cytotoxic activity. Goals: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of extracts and essential oil of A. marschalliana and investigate the possible mechanisms of cell death. Material & methods: The aerial parts of A. marschalliana were subjected to Soxhlet and clevenger apparatus for obtaining different extracts and essential oil, respectively. Anti-proliferative activity of extracts and oil were investigated by MTT colorimetric assay using MCF-7, SW872 and HFFF cell lines. In order to carry out further investigations on fractions of potent extract (DCM), vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC) method was applied. Finally the mechanism of cytotoxicity was explored by Flow cytometry using annexin V/PI kit. Results: DCM was the most cytotoxic extract against MCF-7 and SW872 and the best candidate for fractionation. 60% fraction with the IC50 values of 9.42±1.09 and 38.52±4.34 µg/ml and 80% fraction with the IC50 values of 58.36±3.91 and 69.18±6.7 µg/ml caused significant growth inhibition against MCF-7 and SW872 cell lines within 48h, respectively. However, potent fractions represented the least suppression on proliferation of HFFF cell line which indicates low adverse effects of cytotoxic compounds on normal cells. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that potent extract and subsequent fractions caused cell death through apoptosis. Essential oil exhibited prominent cytotoxic property.

Discussion: Our study demonstrated that A. marschalliana induced cytotoxicity in different cancer cells mainly by activating apoptosis and could play an effective role in inhibiting the growth of cancerous cells.