Antiproliferative activity of Marrubium persicum extract in the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line

Developing antitumor drugs from natural products is receiving increasing interest worldwide due to limitations and side effects of therapy strategies for the second leading cause of disease related mortality, cancer.

The antiproliferative activity of a methanolic extract from the aerial parts of Marrubium persicum extract was assessed with the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line using the MTT test for cell viability and cytotoxicity indices. In addition, antioxidant properties of the extract were evaluated by measuring its ability to scavenge free DPPH radicals. Moreover, the total phenolic and flavonoid content of the extract was determined based on Folin-Ciocalteu and colorimetric aluminum chloride methods.

The findings of the study for the antiproliferative activity of the methanolic extract of M. persicum showed that growth of MCF-7 cells was inhibited by the extract in a dose and time dependent manner, where a gradual increase of cytotoxicity effect has been achieved setting out on 200 μg/mL concentration of the plant extract. The antioxidant assay revealed that the extract was a strong scavenger of DPPH radicals with an RC50 value of 52 μg/mL. The total phenolic and flavonoids content of the plant extract was 409.3 mg gallic acid equivalent and 168.9 mg quercetin equivalent per 100g of dry plant material.

Overall, M. persicum possesses potential antiproliferative and antioxidant activities on the malignant MCF-7 cell line that could be attributed to the high content of phenolics and flavonoids, and therefore warrants further exploration.