Evaluation of potential anti tumor activity of Scrophularia variegata M. Bieb. extract on lung cancer cell line

Abstract

Introduction Cancer causes significant morbidity and mortality and is a major public health problem worldwide. Lung cancer has the most mortality rate among other types of cancer in the world. According to American Cancer Society (ACS) in 2007, 31% all of cancer death in males and 26% in females, were related to lung cancer. Plant-derived compounds have been an important source of several clinically useful anti-cancer agents. Among these, Scrophularia species have been used in various traditional medicines around the world. In the current study we aimed to assess cytotoxic and possible anti cancer effect of Scrophularia variegata, a traditionally used herbal medicine, on A549 cell line. Materials and Methods In this study, we studied the growth inhibitory effect of S. variegata's anti-tumor activity using human lung cancer cell line A549. The cells were exposed to methanol extract at different concentration and for different time durations. Along with imaging technique for revealing the treatments outcome, MTT assay were carried out to characterize the cytotoxicity of the extract used. Expression of apoptosis related genes such as bcl-XL, bax, p53 and EGFR as well as β-actin house keeping gene was studied using reverse transcriptase-PCR. Results Our results showed that methanol extracts of S. variegata greatly inhibited A549 cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. Upon treatment with extract, a clear difference was observed in cellular morphology; the cells acquired more attenuated architecture. A decrease in expression of some apoptosis related genes was observed. Discussion Our results, for the first time, demonstrate the S. variegata methanol extract anti-tumor activity in vitro and showed its inhibitory effect on the growth of human lung cancer cell line A549. The results demonstrate S. variegata could be considered as a suitable anti cancer candidate for further analysis.