Investigation of <i>in vitro</i> cytotoxic, mutagenic and anti-mutagenic effects of shirazolide extracted from <i>Jurinea leptoloba</i>

<p>Shirazolide is an elemanolide isolated from <i>Jurinea leptoloba</i> DC. The aim of this study was to determine the cytotoxic, mutagenic and anti-mutagenic properties of shirazolide from <i>J. leptoloba</i> DC <i>in vitro</i>. Cytotoxicity was measured using a modified MTT (3-(4,5-di methyl thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-di phenyltetrazolium bromide) assay on normal human lymphocytes and tumor HeLa cells, showing that the cytotoxicity of shirazolide is much higher for HeLa cells than for normal lymphocytes. Mutagenic and anti-mutagenic activities of shirazolide were evaluated using the <i>Salmonella typhimurium</i> tester strains TA98 and TA100 showing anti-mutagenic properties against the former strain under metabolic activation.</p