Cytotoxic Effects ofTeucrium polium. on Some Established Cell Lines

Abstract

Teucrium polium (Lamaceae), part of the natural flora of Iran and the Middle East, has long been used for the treatment of diabetes, gastric inflammation, and convulsion in traditional medicine (Reishinger, 1982). Although some benefits of T. polium have been claimed by researchers, very few studies have investigated the cytotoxic effects of this herb. In the current study, we investigated the cytotoxic effects of an ethanol extract of T. polium on four cell lines, A549, BT20, MCF7, and PC12, by measurement of mitochondrial respiration as well as colony-forming assay. We also compared T. polium cytotoxicity to paclitaxel, a known herbal anticancer agent. Our results show that the ethanol extract of T. polium suppressed the growth of all tested cell lines effectively. The IC 50 values for each cell line were calculated as follows: A549, 90 mg=mL; BT20, 106 mg=mL; MCF-7, 140 mg=mL; and PC12, 120 mg=mL. T. polium extract also inhibited formation of colonies in agarose efficiently. Further investigations are now needed to establish the exact mechanism of action and identify the active ingredient(s) of T. polium extract in order to show its therapeutic efficacy.

Detection of mycobiota, aflatoxigenic and ochratoxigenic genes, and cytotoxic ability in spices

“…Spices had cytotoxic potential are useful in the development of cancer therapeutics which had increasing importance in the last decade. Nematollahi‐Mahani, Rezazadeh‐Kermani, Mehrabani, and Nakhaee () reported that the ethanol extract of Teucrium polium exhibited cytotoxic effects on four cell lines. The IC50 value for each cell line was reported as 90 μg/ml for A‐549, 106 μg/ml for BT‐20, 140 μg/ml for MCF‐7, and 120 μg/ml for PC‐12 cells.…”

Phytochemistry and Medicinal Properties of Teucrium polium L. (Lamiaceae)

“…The authors concluded that this activity could be explained partly by the presence of sesquiterpenes, such as spathulenol, δ‐cadinene, caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, a‐humulene and torreyol in T. polium . Nematollahi‐Mahani et al () investigated the cytotoxic effects of an ethanol extract of T. polium on four cell lines, A549 (adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells), BT20 (breast carcinoma cell line), MCF7 (human breast adenocarcinoma cell line) and PC12, by measurement of mitochondrial respiration as well as a colony‐forming assay. Their results showed that the ethanol extract of T. polium suppressed the growth of the tested cell lines effectively as well as inhibited the formation of colonies in agarose.…”

“…It is also used as antibacterial, antiulcer, hypotensive, antispasmodic, anorexic and antipyretic agents (Autore et al, 1984;Gharaibeh et al, 1989;Suleiman et al, 1988). Recently, cytotoxic, anticancer and antimutagenic effects of the ethanol and aqueous extracts of T. polium, on various cell lines have been investigated (Khader et al, 2007(Khader et al, , 2010Nematollahi-Mahani et al, 2007).…”

Phenolic Compounds Determination and Antioxidant Activity of Teucrium Cavernarum

“…Some species of this genus are used as antidiabetic, antispasmodic, anthelmintic and they are also used for treatment of asthma and bronchitis. Antioxidant activity and cytotoxic effects of the genus were also reported [2,3].…”