Aqueous Extract of Lavender Angustifolia Inhibits Lymphocytes Proliferation of Hodgkin's Lymphoma Patients

BACKGROUND There are several types of cancer, which cause millions of deaths worldwide every year. Many studies have confirmed that plants are adequate natural sources to be examined as anti-cancer drugs with fewer side effects than chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In this study the anti-cancer properties of Lavender aqueous extract on lymphocytes derived from patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma has been studied. METHODS In order to determine the cytotoxic effects of the extract on lymphocytes of patients in stages III and IV of Hodgkin's lymphoma and two different cell lines in the presence of different concentrations of aqueous extract of Lavender, MTT colorimetric assay and flow cytometry analysis were used. RESULTS Findings indicated that Lavender inhibited cell proliferation in both lymphocytes and cell lines with different effects. The effective concentration of Lavender that decreased viability of Hodgkin's lymphoma cells below Lethal Concentration 50 (LC50) value was 100 µg/ml and this was half of the therapeutic dose. In addition, apoptosis was the main mechanism the Hodgkin's lymphoma cell encountered when exposed to the aqueous extract of Lavender. CONCLUSION This experiment proposes that aqueous Lavender extract can be regarded as a potential anti-cancer agent in future studies.