Abstract

Salvia verticillata L. is a well-known plant from the family Lamiaceae. The purpose of this research was to analyze the cytotoxic, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of chloroform and petroleum ether root extracts of Salvia verticillata. The total content of phenolic compounds and flavonoids were determined in both of the extracts. The antioxidant activity was estimated in vitro using different assays. The antimicrobial potential was tested against different test strains using micro-well dilution assay. The cytotoxic activity was evaluated on epithelial, human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 and human colorectal carcinoma cell line HCT 116 by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay. The extracts showed similar antioxidant activity. The values for the antimicrobial activity differed depending on the microbial strain as well on the solvent used. There were significant differences in cytotoxic effect on investigated cell lines depending of the concentration. Half maximal inhibitory concentration value for chloroform extract was 77.16 μg/ml for MDA-MB-231 cell line and 105.08 μg/ml for the HCT 116 cell line. Half maximal inhibitory concentration value for petroleum ether extract was 30.90 μg/ml for MDA- MB-231 cell line and 44.28 μg/ml for the HCT 116 cell line.