Comparison of Violacein, Mangosteen and Sidr Extracts as Agents for Inhibiting Breast and Lung Cancer Cell Growth

Abstract

According to the American Cancer Society, Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Currently there are a number of effective microbiological and natural treatments of breast and lung cancer that can prevent surgery and removal of damage tissues yet lead to repair of the damaged tissue by the body itself. The purpose of this study was to expose four cell lines, Breast cancer (BT549, BT20, and MCF7) and Lung cancer (A549) to three natural extracts, Violacein, Sidr and Mangosteen. Violacein is a natural purple pigment that has potential medical applications such as antimicrobial, antiviral, and anticancer drugs that is produced by Chromobacterium Violaceum, and it was added to cancer cell cultures at various concentrations. In addition, it has been reported that Mangosteen and Sidr have anti‐tumor, anti‐leukemia, antifungal, antibacterial and antioxidants properties. Xanthones were extracted from the pericarp, whole fruit, heartwood, and leaf of the Mangosteen, and it was added also to the cancer cell cultures at different concentrations. On other hand, the Sidr extract was prepared as a crude methanol extract taken from the leaves of the plant Ziziphus spina‐christi. It was also exposed to cancer cell cultures at a variety of concentrations. The Alamar blue assay was used to view cell death of the breast and lung cancer cell lines. It was found that the Violacein from C. violaceum strain 14N23 inhibited the growth of MCF7. It was demonstrated also that the Mangosteen and Sidr extracts had an effect on the cancer cells A549, MCF7, BT 20, and BT549. The Mangosteen and Sidr extracts were found to be effective in inhibiting the growth of all the cancer cell lines. It was concluded that these extracts have potential for controlling cancer cell growth. Further studies will involve determining the pathways impacted by these extracts and determining the active components of these extracts.