Planta Med 2011; 77 - PM149
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1282907

Cytotoxic properties of five Centaurea L. species from Anatolia

Ş Baykan Erel 1, S Demir 1, F Aydın Kose 2, P Ballar 2, C Karaalp 1
  • 1Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, faculty of Pharmacy, Ege University, 35100, Bornova-Izmir, Turkey
  • 2Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ege University, 35100, Bornova-Izmir, Turkey

The genus Centaurea L. (Asteraceae) comprises about 192 taxons in the flora of Turkey distributed througout the Anatolian peninsula, with 61% being endemic (1–3). Many species of the genus have long been used traditionally to treat various ailments e.g. cough, hemoroid, peptic ulser and abscess (4). Pharmacological studies on some Centaurea species have reported antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, antipyretic, cytotoxic and immunological activities (5).

In this study, methanolic extracts of five Centaurea L. species (C. aphrodisea Boiss., C. athoa DC, C. hyalolepis Boiss., C. iberica Trev. and C. polyclada DC) were investigated for their cytotoxic activities against three human cancer cell lines; MCF7 (human breast cancer), A549 (human lung cancer), U20S (human osteocarcoma) and one non-cancer cell line, 293HEK (human embriyonic kidney) by cell proliferation assay using WST-1 reagent. C. polyclada extract was the most active one against MCF7 (IC50:61µg/ml), U2OS (IC50: 63µg/ml) and 293HEK (IC50:72µg/ml) cell lines. C. aphrodisea also showed significant effect on 293HEK (IC50:85µg/ml) and MCF7 (IC50:90µg/ml). This is the first cytotoxic activity report for the Centaurea species mentioned above.

Keywords: Centaurea, Asteraceae, cytotoxicity

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