Ferula gummosa Boiss flower and leaf extracts inhibit angiogenesis in vitro

Angiogenesis is a vital process in development as well as in tumor metastasis. Therefore, inhibition of tumor angiogenesis may be an approach for cancer therapy. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Ferula gummosa Boiss flower and leaf extracts on angiogenesis.

Cell growth and cytotoxic effects of different concentrations (0-70 μg/mL) of F. gummosa Boiss flower and leaf extracts were evaluated on the growth of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) using Neutral Red assay. Then, wound healing, in vitro angiogenesis assay and quantitative VEGF gene expression analysis were conducted with the noncytotoxic concentrations of the ethanol extract.

Our results indicated that observed HUVECs viability was higher than 60% for both extracts after 24 hours treatment at concentration of 30 μg/mL or lower, whereas cytotoxic effects were observed at higher concentrations or after 48 hours treatment. F. gummosa Boiss flower and leaf extracts inhibited migration and angiogenesis capacity in a concentration-dependent manner (10-30 μg/mL), and down regulated VEGF transcription (20 μg/mL for flower extract and 30 μg/mL for leaf extract).

Our findings revealed that F. gummosa Boiss flower and leaf extracts may contain antiangiogenic compounds, which could be used in preparation of new therapeutic agents for inhibition of tumor angiogenesis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of antiangiogenic effects of F. gummosa Boiss flower and leaf extracts and more studies are needed to identify the effective components of the extracts.