Programmed cell death in breast adeno-carcinoma induced by Achillea filipendulina

Abstract

Plants from Asteraceae family have been reported with cytotoxic and apoptotic properties. In the present study, Achillea filipendulina, a member of this family was selected for assessment of its toxic potential on cancerous cell lines. Methanol extract of A. filipendulina was evaluated for cytotoxicity by MTT assay in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cell lines. The ability of the extract to induce programmed cell death was examined with annexin V assay. The alterations in SubG1 fraction in the breast cancer cell cycle were also evaluated. A. filipendulina demonstrated cytotoxicity on both cell lines with IC50 values of 386 and 248 μg/mL against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468, respectively. The early and late apoptotic cells were detected in annexin V assay and; increase in subG1 was observed in the cell cycle analysis for both breast cancer cell lines. Our results revealed that A. filipendulina is capable of inducing cell death via apoptosis.