Comparison of the antiproliferative activity of crude ethanol extracts of nine salvia species grown in Jordan against breast cancer cell line models

BACKGROUND: The antiproliferative activity of Salvia species grown in Jordan has not been fully evaluated yet. The aim of this work was to study the antiproliferative activity of crude ethanol extracts from nine Salvia species grown in Jordan against a panel of breast cancer cell lines. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cytotoxic activity was evaluated in human tumor models of breast cancer; MCF-7, T47D, ZR-75-1, and BT 474 by the sulforhodamine B assay. In addition, the extracts were evaluated using a non-transformed cell line (Vero) and normal fibroblast cells in order to demonstrate their selectivity and safety. RESULTS: From the nice ethanol extracts under investigation, those of S. dominica and S. fruticosa showed an inhibitory concentration of 50% of cells (IC(50)) in concentrations less than 30μg/mL against the four cell lines under investigation. S. syriaca and S. hormium showed an IC(50) below 30μg/ml for two out of the four cell lines. S. fruticosa, S. hormium and S. syriaca showed selectivity in their antiproliferative activity against estrogen receptor positive cell lines with minimal toxicity against normal human periodontal fibroblasts. Phytochemical screening using thin layer chromatography indicated the presence of terpenoids, flavonoids and coumarins in all examined extracts. CONCLUSION: Three of the plant extracts under investigation exhibited antiproliferative activity against breast cancer cells and were shown to be safe and selective. These could be considered as a potential source for novel anticancer therapy.