Cytotoxic activity of ten algae from the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea on human breast cancer cell lines; MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and T-47D

BACKGROUND: Seaweeds have proven to be a promising natural source of bioactive metabolites for drug development. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to monitor the ethanol extract of ten algae from the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea, for their in vitro cytotoxic activity on three human breast cancer cell lines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three human breast cancer cell lines including MDA-MB-231(ER(−)), MCF-7(ER(+)), and T-47D (ER(+)) were treated by different concentrations of total ethanol (90%) algae extracts and the cytotoxic effects were evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Doxorubicin (Ebewe, Austria) was used as a positive control. After 72 h of incubation, the cytotoxic effect of the algae was calculated and presented as 50%-inhibitory concentration (IC(50)). RESULTS: The results indicated Gracilaria foliifera and Cladophoropsis sp. to be the most active algae in terms of cytotoxic effects on the investigated cancer cell lines. The IC(50) values against MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and T-47D cells were, respectively, 74.89 ± 21.71, 207.81 ± 12.07, and 203.25 ± 30.98 µg/ml for G. foliifera and 66.48 ± 4.96, 150.86 ± 51.56 and >400 µg/ml for Cladophoropsis sp. The rest of the algal extracts were observed not to have significant cytotoxic effects in the concentration range from 6.25 µg/ml to 400 µg/ml. CONCLUSION: Our data conclusively suggest that G. foliifera and Cladophoropsis sp. may be good candidates for further fractionation to obtain novel anticancer substances. Moreover, stronger cytotoxic effects on estrogen negative breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231(ER(−))) in comparison to estrogen positive cells (MCF-7 and T-47D) suggest that the extract of G. foliifera and Cladophoropsis sp. may have an estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor-independent mechanism for their cellular growth inhibition.