the antiproliferative effects of petroleum ether extract of artemisia aucheri on human cancerous cell lines

different species of artemisia (asteraceae) have shown to exhibit antitumor activity. the aim of this study was to identify the antiproliferative effect of artemisia aucheri boiss (a.aucheri) from iran on cultured human cancer cells. aerial parts of artemisia aucheri boiss. were collected from chahar bagh region (2150 m altitude, sep. 2011),golestan province, iran.the dried powdered aerial parts  of a.aucheri were extracted with petroleum ether (40-60), dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, ethanol and ethanol-water (1:1 v/v), respectively.for biological investigation different concentrations of extracts were added to cultured cells and incubated for 24 h. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (mtt) assay was employed to assess the cell viability.in addition,morphological changes of cells     were assayed using phase contrast inverted microscope. different extracts exert various growth inhibitory effects. in case of sknmc,mcf-7 and a2780 cells, pertroleum ether extracts (ic 50 values: 21.0, 26.0 and 28.0 µg/ml, respectively) showed the highest growth inhibitory effects. dichloromethane extracts showed ic 50 values: 27.0, 35.0 and 55.0 µg/ml, respectively.this study shows the antiproliferative effects of a.aucheri petroleum ether extract on malignant cell lines. thus, may be considered as a promising chemotherapeutic agent in cancer treatment.