Investigating the effect of Phlomis lanceolata Boiss and hohen on cancer cell lines

Phlomis lanceolata is a medicinal plant that has long been used to treat various conditions such as diabetes, gastric ulcer, hemorrhoids, inflammation and wounds. As most of Phlomis species have shown cytotoxic activity against proliferation of different cell lines, a biological investigation of P. lanceolata was carried out in this study. The aim of this study was to find out the in vitro cytotoxic activity of total extract and different fractions of Phlomis lanceolata on four cell lines. Cytotoxic activity of the metanolic total extract and partition fractions of chloroform, ethyl acetate and petroleum ether of flowering aerial parts of Phlomis lanceolata on the HT29, Caco2, T47D and NIH3T3 cell lines is examined by MTT. Petroleum ether fraction showed high cytotoxic activity against proliferation of all four cell lines. Presence of heavy triterpens and lipophil compounds recognized by TLC test in Petroleum ether fraction is responsible for high cytotoxic activity. The results emphasize the importance of phytochemical studies which could lead to the discovery of new active compounds.