Cytotoxicity of Libyan Juniperus phoenicea against Human Cancer Cell Lines A549, EJ138, Hepg2 and MCF7

Abstract

Background: The current study was undertaken to assess the cytotoxicity of the leaves of Libyan Juniperus phoenicea (Cupressaceae) against human cancer cell lines. Methods: The cytotoxicity of the n-hexane, dichloromethane (DCM) and methanol (MeOH) extracts of the leaves of J. phoenicea (JP), obtained from sequential Soxhlet extractions, was assessed against four human cancer cell lines: EJ138 (human bladder carcinoma), HepG2 (human liver hepatocellular carcinoma), A549 (human lung carcinoma) and MCF7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) using the MTT assay. Results: The cell line A549 was the most sensitive to the JP extracts, with the highest level of cytotoxicity with the IC50 values of 16, 13 and 100 µg/mL for the DCM, n-hexane and MeOH extracts, respectively. However, generally the most potent cytotoxic extract across the other cells tested was the n-hexane extract, followed by the DCM extract, whilst the MeOH extracts showed little or no cytotoxicity. The percentage of viability of cells decreased as the concentration of test compounds increased. The cytotoxicity of various chromatographic fractions from the extracts was also studied against the A459 cells. For the n-hexane fractions, the IC50 values were 160, 62, 90, 30, 9.5 and 40 µg/mL for fractions 1 to 5 and 7, respectively. Fractions 4 and 5 showed the greatest effect. DCM fractions 2, 3 and 4 had the IC50 values of 60, 92 and 19 µg/mL, respectively, and DCM fractions 5 to 8 were non-cytotoxic. Fractions 1 and 2 of the MeOH extract were non-cytotoxic, whereas cytotoxicity was observed for fractions 3 and 4 with IC50 values of 50 and 85 µg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: The outcome of the present study suggested that the JP leaves possess cytotoxic activities. The high level of cytotoxicity of the n-hexane and DCM extracts suggested that lipophilicity might affect the cytotoxicity of JP, where the less polar compounds had the strongest cytotoxicity.

Growth inhibitory activity of biflavonoids and diterpenoids from the leaves of the Libyan Juniperus phoenicea against human cancer cells

“…The VLC fractions of the n‐ hexane extract, F2 to F5, and of the DCM extract, F4 and F6, and the SPE fractions of the MeOH extract, F3 and F4, were all considered cytotoxic. The most potent fraction appeared to be F5 of the n‐ hexane extract with an IC 50 value of 10 μg/ml, then F4 of the DCM extract (IC 50 value 19 μg/ml) and F3 and F4 of the MeOH extract (IC 50 values 50 and 85 μg/ml; Al Groshi et al, ).…”

“…In this study, bioassay‐guided fractionation was carried out on the J. phoenicea cytotoxic fractions of the leaves that were evaluated previously (Al Groshi, Evans, Ismail, Nahar, & Sarker, ). The VLC fractions of the n‐ hexane extract, F2 to F5, and of the DCM extract, F4 and F6, and the SPE fractions of the MeOH extract, F3 and F4, were all considered cytotoxic.…”

“…The crude extracts of J. phoenicea leaves were separated into various fractions using vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC) on silica gel for the n ‐hexane and DCM extracts and solid‐phase extraction (SPE) on reversed‐phase C 18 silica for the MeOH extract (Al Groshi et al, ; Sarker, Latif, & Gray, ). All resulting fractions were subjected to the MTT assay using human cancer cell lines (Al Groshi et al, ), and comprehensive chromatographic analyses were conducted on the cytotoxic fractions to isolate compounds 1 – 8 .…”

“…Juniperus phoenicea L. (Cupressaceae), commonly known as “Phoenician Juniper or Arâr,” is a well‐known Libyan medicinal plant, which has been used in Libyan traditional medicine for the treatment of various human ailments including tumours and cancers (Al Groshi, Evans, Ismail, Nahar, & Sarker, ). Whereas previous phytochemical investigation on this plant revealed the presence of flavonoids, lignans, phenylpropanoids, sterols, and terpenoids (Aljaiyash, Gonaid, Islam, & Chaouch, ), bioactivity studies demonstrated its antidiabetic, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, contraceptive, and cytotoxic properties (Aljaiyash et al, ; Latif, Amer, Hamad, Alarifi, & Almajhdi, ; Qnais, Abdulla, & Abu Ghalyun, ; Sánchez de Medina, Gámez, Jiménez, Osuna, & Zarzuelo, ).…”

“…In addition, this plant also exhibited cytotoxicity against both MCF7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) and HCT‐116 (human colon carcinoma) cell lines (Aljaiyash et al, ). The cytotoxicity of the n‐ hexane, dichloromethane (DCM), and MeOH extracts of the leaves of the Libyan J. phoenicea was evaluated against four human cancer cell lines: EJ138 (human bladder carcinoma), HepG2 (human liver hepatocellular carcinoma), A549 (human lung carcinoma), and MCF7 (Al Groshi et al, ). The A549 appeared to be most sensitive to J. phoenicea extracts, with IC 50 values of 16, 13, and 100 μg/ml for the n‐ hexane, DCM, and MeOH extracts, respectively.…”