In vitro Cytotoxic Screening of Different Parts from Ornithogalum bungei on Selected Cancer Cells

BACKGROUND: Natural products comprise a large section of pharmaceutical agents in the field of cancer therapy. In the present study, the organic extracts and fractions of various parts of Ornithogalum bungei were investigated for in vitro cytotoxic properties on three human cancer cell lines, hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), prostate cancer (PC3), and leukemia (K562) cells. METHODS: The present experimental study was conducted at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (Tehran, Iran) during 2017-2019. Separately extracted plant materials, including bulbs, stems, and flowers of O. bungei were assessed by the tetrazolium dye-based colorimetric assay (MTT). The selected extracts were submitted to fractionation using vacuum liquid chromatography and after MTT assay, the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50) (value for each fraction was determined. The data were analyzed using One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The cytotoxicity of the bulb’s methanol extract and the dichloromethane extract of aerial parts increased in a concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, cell viability decreased in a dose-dependent manner. In the HepG2 cell line, the best IC(50) values of fractions from DCM extracts of aerial parts were determined to be 19.8±10.2 µg/mL after 24 hours of exposure and 19.39±6.4 µg/mL following 48 hours of exposure. In the PC3 cell line, after 48 hours of exposure, the IC(50) values of fractions were unaccountable, while the percentage of inhibition for A6 to A11 in 24 hours of exposure was more than 40 µg/mL. CONCLUSION: O. bungei growing in Iran showed significant potentials as a cytotoxic agent with selective effects on different cancer cell lines.