Cytotoxicity of Sargassum angustifolium Partitions against Breast and Cervical Cancer Cell Lines

BACKGROUND: Marine organisms produce a variety of compounds with pharmacological activities including anticancer effects. This study attempt to find cytotoxicity of hexane (HEX), dichloromethane (DCM), and butanol (BUTOH) partitions of Sargassum angustifolium. MATERIALS AND METHODS: S. angustifolium was collected from Bushehr, a Southwest coastline of Persian Gulf. The plant was extracted by maceration with methanol-ethyl acetate. The extract was evaporated under vacuum and partitioned by Kupchan method to yield HEX, DCM, and BUTOH partitions. The cytotoxic activity of the extract (150, 450, and 900 μg/ml) was investigated against MCF-7 (breast cancer), HeLa (cervical cancer), and human umbilical vein endothelial cells cell lines by mitochondrial tetrazolium test assay after 72 h. RESULTS: The cell survivals of HeLa and MCF-7 cell were decreased by increasing the concentration of extracts from 150 μg/ml to 900 μg/ml. The median growth inhibitory concentration value of HEX partition was 71 and 77 μg/ml against HeLa and MCF-7, dichloromethane partition was 36 and 88 μg/ml against HeLa and MCF-7, respectively. BUTOH partition was 25 μg/ml against MCF-7. CONCLUSION: This study reveals that different partitions of S. angustifolium have cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines.