Anticancer, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Some Mediterranean Plants Extracts

Abstract

This research was carried out to determine the anti-tumorigenic, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of extracts obtained from Juniperus oxycedrus L. oxycedrus (Cupressaceae) and Smilax aspera L. (Smilacaceae) fruits. The cytotoxic effects of ethanol extracts of Juniperus oxycedrus L. oxycedrus and Smilax aspera L. fruits were determined with six different tumorogenic cell lines including breast adenocarcinoma, small cell lung carcinoma, osteosarcoma, neuroblastoma and healthy kidney epithelial cells. Among the tested ethanol extracts of Juniperus oxycedrus L. oxycedrus and Smilax aspera L. fruits the ethanol extract obtained from Juniperus oxycedrus fruits was determined to have the highest anti-tumorigenic effect against small cell lung carcinoma with an IC50 value of 7.2 μg ml-1. At the end of cytotoxicity studies, ethanol extracts of Juniperus oxycedrus L. oxycedrus fruits proved to be good candidates for small cell lung carcinoma (A569). Antimicrobial effects were analyzed by the MIC test. MIC values of ethanol extracts of Juniperus oxycedrus L. oxycedrus and Smilax aspera L. fruits against Escherichia coli and Candida albicans were found to be 31.25 μg ml-1. Moreover, the radical scavenging capacity of Juniperus oxycedrus L. oxycedrus and Smilax aspera L. fruit extracts was elucidated. S. aspera L. (61%) and J. oxycedrus L. oxycedrus (47.3%) were found to have good free radical scavenging capacity.