Study on cytotoxic activity of chloroformic fractions from Astraceae family on a number of cancer cell lines

Sammanfattning: Cancer is considered as one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The standard treatments of cancer are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It is significant that a number of currently used anti-cancer agents are derived from natural sources, including plants, marine organisms and micro-organisms. In Iran, because of its climate diversity numerous varieties of plants can grow. Many of these plants such as Glycyrrhizaglabra, Foeniculumvulgare and Polygonumspecies have shown to possess anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. Asteraceae or Compositae family is famous for its tranquilizing effect, antifungal and cytotoxic activities. In frame of an ethnopharmacological project, local healers of some provinces of north east of Iran were interviewed by using questionnaire forms and could identify a number of herbs mainly from Astraceae family which are used for treatment traditionally in some areas of northern part of Iran. To screen the anti cancer effects of plants from this family, plants  were collected and extraction was done by using methanol maceration and finally extracts were tested for their toxicity toward a number of cancer cell lines by performing colorimetric cytotoxicity assay, extracts with high toxicity were sent for fractionation. The current study was aimed to identify the possible cytotoxic effect of two chloroformic fractions from Asteraceae family on four cancer cell lines (HepG2, HeLa, MN1 and MDD2) by using MTT colorimetric cytotoxicity assay. Results suggest that following 72 hours exposure, both fractions exhibited a substantial antiproliferative effect in all four tested cell lines. Moreover, concentration range for inducing 50% of cell death (IC50%) was determined. Our results point to a robust inhibitory effect of chloroformic fractions specifically toward HeLa cancer cell lines. These plants represent valuable resources for the development of potential anticancer agents.