Evaluation of Cytotoxicity of Sagebrush Plain Extract on Human Breast Cancer MCF7 Cells

Abstract Background & aim: Several studies have reported anti-cancer properties of sagebrush plain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of the methanol extract of sagebrush plain on human breast cancer MCF7 cells. Methods: In the present experimental study, the toxic effects of methanol extracts of flowers, leaves, stems and roots of sagebrush plain from of Khorassan and Esfahan province were tested on human breast cancer cells MCF-7 and normal cells HEK293 . Plant samples were extracted by methanol and their toxic effects on normal and breast cancer cells at concentrations of 5.62, 125, 250 and 500 µg/ml was determined by MTT. Both breast cancer cells MCF-7 and normal HEK293 cells were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium and DMEM containing 10% fetal calf serums were cultured. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. Results: The methanol extract of sagebrush showed toxicity on MCF7 cells. The extract of Khorasan showed higher toxicity than Esfahan province. IC50 of sagebrush plant for all parts of the plant were obtained more than 500 µg/ml, but the IC50 of sagebrush plant of Khorasan region in leaf and flower were 205 ± 1.3 and 213 ± 5.3µg respectively. The leaves and flowers in both cases had the highest cytotoxicity. Plant extracts in both regions did not show significant cytotoxicity on normal HEK293 cells. Conclusion: The extract of the sagebrush plain region of Khorasan region showed greater cytotoxicity than Esfahan. It seems that different environmental conditionshas considerable cytotoxicity. Keywords: Sagebrush Plain, MTT, Breast Cance

Hairy Root Induction in Linum mucronatum ssp. mucronatum, an Anti-Tumor Lignans Producing Plant

Transgenic hairy root system is a promising source of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants with high pharmaceutical value.For the first time, hairy roots were established in different explants of Linum mucronatum, an anti-cancer agent producing plant, via amikimopine type strain of Agrobacterium rhizogenes, ‘A13’. The percentage of hairy root induction varied from 0 to 60% depended onthe explants and hypocotyl (including cotyledonary node) explants were found to be highly susceptible to A. rhizogenes infection withthe highest (60%) rate of hairy root induction. four different Murashige and Skoog (MS)-based liquid culture media were used for wellestablishment of hairy roots. Hairy root growth medium D (HRGM-D) containing hormone-free MS basal medium with an extra oneday pre-incubation period at 35°C was found to be more efficient for profuse growth (fresh weight; 8500 mg per 25 ml culture medium)of hairy roots. Hairy root system presented in this study may offer a suitable platform for optimization and production of satisfactorylevel of aryltetralin lignans like podophyllotoxin and its derivatives from L. mucronatum

The effect of aluminium on enzyme activities in two wheat cultivars

In order to study the effect of different aluminum (Al) concentrations on the enzyme activities of wheat seedlings and the effect of malate and citrate treatments as chelates for reducing the noxious effect of Al in medium culture, the seedlings of two wheat cultivars, Darab (Al-sensitive) and Maroon (Al-tolerant) were grown on hydroponic solution (non modified Hoagland solution) containing AlCl3 (0-100-200-300 M). Factorial experiment was realized in a complete randomized design with three replications. The activity of different enzymes such as ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in root and shoot were measured. Analysis of variance revealed that, the activity of studied enzymes (APX, CAT, GR and SOD) in root and shoot were affected by the main effects of Al concentration. However, in the case of catalase activity in root, the main effect of genotypes as well as genotype´Al concentration was also significant. APX activity in root was not significantly differed between Maroon and Darab in all Al concentrations. But by increasing Al concentration in root medium APX activity was significantly decreased. In the case of SOD activity, we did not find any difference between the studied genotypes in all Al concentrations but its content in roots was affected by the amount of Al applied in medium. So that by increasing the amount of Al, SOD content increased in the genotypes similarly. The same trend was observed for catalase activity in root. In the case of GR activity, we did not find any difference between the genotypes in all Al concentrations  but its content in root was affected by applying Al in medium compared with control medium, so that GR content increased in both genotypes similarly. The activity of investigated enzymes showed the same trend in the shoot. The effect of malate and citrate was also studied on reducing the noxious effect of Al in root. Analysis of variance revealed that, there were significant differences within the treatments on the enzymes activity in root (not in the shoot) except for catalase. However, some interaction effects were significant. This means that malate or citrate application was effective in some Al concentrations.Key words: Maroon (Al tolerant), Darab (Al sensitive), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), superoxide dismutase (SOD)