growth inhibition and apoptosis induction of scutellaria luteo-coerulea bornm. & sint. on leukemia cancer cell lines k562 and hl-60

objective: scutellaria (lamiaceae) has been implicated for medicinal purposes both in modern and traditional medicine. some species of the genus scutellaria has extensively been studied for anticancer activity. scutellaria luteo-coerulea (s. luteo-coerulea) is one of the iranian species of the genus scutellaria. materials and methods: in the present study, cytotoxic and apoptogenic properties of ch2cl2, etoac, n-buoh, and h2o fractions of s. luteo-coerulea were investigated on k562. moreover, hl-60. dna fragmentation in apoptotic cells were determined by propidium iodide (pi) staining (sub-g1 peak). results: scutellaria luteo-coerulea inhibited the growth of malignant cells in a dose-dependent manner. among solvent fractions of s. luteo-coerulea, the ch2cl2 fraction was found to be the most cytotoxic one among others. sub-g1 peak in flow cytometry histogram of treated cells suggested the induction of apoptosis in s. luteo-coerulea. conclusion: scutellaria luteo-coerulea could be a novel candidate for further analytical elucidation in respect to fine major components responsible for the cytotoxic effect of the plant also clinical evaluations.