AMIRGHOFRAN Z, KARIMI M. CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF THYMUS VULGARIS, ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM AND THUJA ORIENTALIS ON DIFFERENT GROWING CELL LINES. Med J Islam Repub Iran 2001; 15 (3) :149-154
URL:
http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/article-1-797-en.html
From the Department of Immunology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, I.R. Iran. , amirzah@yahoo.com
Abstract: (5822 Views)
The cytotoxic activity of ethanolic extracts of Thymus vulgaris, Thuja
orientalis and Achillea millefolium was investigated on various growing tumor
cell lines. MTT colorimetric assay was used for measuring the inhibition of cell
proliferation. All of the three extracts showed a relatively dose-dependent inhibition
of proliferation of human breast cancer (SK-Br-3, MDA-MB-435) and leukemia
(U937 and K562 ) cell lines. The most sensitive cells to the effect of Thuja
orientalis and Achillea millefolium extracts were K562 and SK-Br-3 and to Thymus
vulgaris were U937 and MDA (50% inhibition at 10 µg/mL). Hela cell line
was less sensitive than other tumor cell lines (% inhibition range -10 to 46). Despite
this potential cytolytic activity against tumor cell lines, low concentrations
of the extracts showed stimulatory effects on the growth ofVero, a non-malignant
cell line. Proliferation of these cells was increased by 10 to 100 llg/mL of Achillea
millefolium and Thymus vulgaris (%inhibition range -48.8 to -6.25) and suppressed by a
concentration of 400 llg/rnL (%inhibition 6.25 and 27.6, respectively). Various concentrations
of Thuja orientalis showed stimulatory effects on this cell line (%inhibition range -
34.00 to -21.4). Study of the effect of two low and high concentrations of the extracts on
mitogen-induced human lymphocytes resulted in a slight increase at 50 µg/mL (Stimulation
index, SI range 1.19 to 1.37,p<0.01). In conclusion, although the extracts showed
strong cytotoxicity for tumor cell lines, the proliferative lymphocytes and the non-malignant
cell line used in this study were clearly less sensitive.