Abstract
Purpose: The aim of the current study was to investigate the in vitro antiproliferative activity of methanolic extracts of six plants regardless of their claimed ethnopharmacological application. Methods: Methanol extracts of different parts of Glycyrrhizaglabra L. (Licorice), Matricaria chamomilla L. (Chamomile), Salvia triloba L. (Sage), Rheum palmatum L. (Rhubarb), Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (Fenugreek) and Sambucusebulus L. (Dwarf Elder) were prepared. The antiproliferative effects of the extracts were tested on two skin cancer melanoma cell lines namely A375.S2 (low tyrosinase expression) and WM 136.1A (high tyrosinase expression) using MTT assay. The IC 50 values for the active extracts were determined against the two melanoma cell lines. Results: The methanolic extracts of G.glabra , M. chamomilla , S. triloba , R. palmatum inhibited the melanotic WM1361A proliferation in a dose-dependent manner revealing IC 50 values of 35.2, 25.2, 20.6, 17.8, μg/ml, respectively but not A375.S2 cell line. However, the extracts of T. foenum-graecum and S. ebulus did not exhibit any significant cytotoxic activity on both melanoma cell lines. Conclusion: The results of these experiments show that methanol extracts of licorice, chamomile, sage and rhubarb have significant antiproliferative activity onWM1361A cell line; a representative human melanotic melanocyte tumor cell line. This renders these plants as potential sources of new lead compounds for the development of new drugs for melanoma cancer. Keywords: Melanoma, Plant extract, tyrosinase, Licorice, Chamomile, Sage, Rhubarb, WM1361A
Highlights
Discovery of new drugs or compounds with antineoplastic activity from natural sources have become popular among scientific communities, presenting new opportunities in the management of different types of cancer
The MTT assay results showed that there were no significant cytotoxic effects of the tested extracts on the proliferation of A375.S2 melanoma cells within the concentration ranges used in these experiments
Doxorubicin used as positive standard inhibited bothWM1361A and A375.S2 cell lines in a dose dependent manner with an IC50 of 3.5 and 4.7μg/ml respectively and glycyrrhetinic acid have been shown to modulate melanogenesis in B16 melanoma cell, and tyrosinase inhibition activity has been shown in skin whitening [22]
Summary
Discovery of new drugs or compounds with antineoplastic activity from natural sources have become popular among scientific communities, presenting new opportunities in the management of different types of cancer. Folk-lore use and investigational experiments, six popular plants (Table 1) that are widely distributed in the Mediterranean region and cultivated in Jordan have been reported to exhibit anticancer activity against one or more type of cancer cell line and possessed many medical benefits [1]. In spite of the numerous folkoric uses and the recorded anticancer or\and antioxidant activities of Sage, Chamomile, Licorice, Fungreek, Rhubard and Dwarf Elder, little is known about their anti-proliferative effect against melanoma. Cancer being the second most common cause of death after cardiovascular and heart diseases in Jordan coupled with the use of traditional topical herbal preparationsas an acceptable safe and readily available choice of therapy for skin cancer in Jordan [26] have informed this study.The in vitroantiproliferative activities ofsixplant extracts on two melanoma cell lines that vary in the degree of tyrosinase enzyme expression were investigated. P values less than 0.05 were considered to be significant
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