In vitro antiproliferative and anti-oxidant activities of methanol extracts of Urena lobata and Viscum album against breast cancer cell lines

Abstract

The therapeutic utilization of plants is a part of universal human culture. Presently, phytotherapy is considered as an alternative to mitigate side effects due to the indiscriminate use of synthetic drugs. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro antiproliferative and antioxidant activities of Viscum album and Urena lobata extracts on breast cancer cell lines. The results of the antiproliferative activity demonstrated the significant reduction of the cells viability with the IC₅₀ of 181 and 172 mg L⁻¹, respectively for U. lobata and V. album extract. At the concentration of 100 and 200 mg L⁻¹, the two extracts exhibited a linear and significant reduction of cells viability after 24, 48, and 72 h. The significant variation of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione-S-transferase activities was found with both extracts at 100 mg L⁻¹ after 24, 48, and 72 h. Urena lobata and V. album extracts demonstrated significant antiproliferative and antioxidant properties on MB-MDA435 cell lines.

Keywords:

• cells viability
• cytotoxicity
• protective effect
• antiproliferative

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (A.U.F.) throughout the program of mobility. The authors wish to thank the staff of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest (Romania).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.