Abstract

Medicinal plants contain various phytochemicals, some of which prevent or can be used in the treatment of many diseases, including cancer. Therefore, they have a significant role not only in the traditional ethnomedicine, but also in the healthcare system of a large number of the world’s population. The aim of this study was to investigate and evaluate possible antiproliferative potential of ethanolic extracts of Origanum vulgare, Centaurium erythraea, Salvia officinalis, Achillea millefolium, Hypericum perforatum and Chelidonium majus on human cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa) and human myeloid leukemia (K562) cancer cell lines. The stock solutions of investigated extracts were prepared in ethanol at concentration of 1 mg/ml and diluted with complete nutrient medium Roswell park memorial institute 1640. The medium was supplemented with 3 mm L-glutamine, 100 μg/ml streptomycin, 100 IU/ml penicillin, 10 % heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum, and 25 mm Hepes, adjusted to pH 7.2. Cell survival was determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay 72 h post-treatment. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration values were calculated using a dose-response growth curve. With regard to all investigated extracts, the HeLa cell line was more resistant than K562 cell line. Origanum vulgare and Salvia officinalis, Achillea millefolium extracts exhibited higher cytotoxicity towards K562 cells (half-maximal inhibitory concentration 0.345 µg/ml and half-maximal inhibitory concentration 0.88 µg/ml, respectively) compared to HeLa cells (half-maximal inhibitory concentration 0.795 µg/ml and IC50 0.975 µg/ml, respectively). The extracts of Centaurium erythraea, Hypericum perforatum and Chelidonium majus expressed no active antiproliferative (cytotoxic) effects on HeLa and K562 cancer cell lines. The active antiproliferative effects of Origanum and of Salvia/Achillea extracts suggest that these extracts could be recommended as a good source of biologically active compounds with potential benefit effects.