Cytotoxicity of fucosterol containing fraction of marine algae against breast and colon carcinoma cell line

CONTEXT: Marine algae produce different secondary metabolites with a wide range of biological activities. Many studies have been achieved on the screening of biological effects of marine organisms and a lot of active compounds were isolated and characterized. AIMS: In an attempt to find cytotoxic compound of hexane fraction, isolation, identification, and cytotoxicity of active compound of this fraction were performed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, total methanolic (70%) extract and partition fractions of hexane, chloroform (CHCl(3)), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and MeOH–H(2)O of Sargassum angustifolium, Chondria dasyphylla, and Ulva flexuosa, collected from coastlines of the Persian Gulf in south of Iran, were studied against colon carcinoma (HT-29), colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2), breast ductal carcinoma (T47D), and Swiss mouse embryo fibroblast (NIH 3T3) cell lines by MTT assay. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: IC(50) (median growth inhibitory concentration) values were calculated by Sigmaplot (10) software. RESULTS: Hexane fraction of Chondria dasyphylla (IC(50) 82.26 ± 4.09 μg/ml) and MeOH-H(2)O fraction of Ulva flexuosa (IC(50) 116.92 ± 8.58 μg/ml) showed cytotoxic activity against proliferation of T47D cells. Hexane fraction of Sargassum angustifolium was also observed for cytotoxicity against T47D and HT-29 cell lines (IC(50) 166.42 ± 26.7 and 190.24 ± 52.8 μg/ml), respectively. An investigation of a component from the hexane fraction of Sargassum angustifolium yielded a steroidal metabolite, fucosterol, with cytotoxicity in T47D and HT29 (IC(50) 27.94 ± 9.3 and 70.41 ± 7.5 μg/ml). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that fucosterol, the most abundant phytosterol in brown algae, is responsible for cytotoxic effect of this extract against breast and colon carcinoma cell lines.