Cytotoxic activity of in vitro cultures of Linum spp.

There are some reports on the lignan constituents of Linum spp. In this study, we investigated the cyototoxicity of Linum spp. in vitro cultures for the first time. If they show significant cytotoxic activity, they will be valuable candidates for isolation of cytotoxic compounds in large scale from them by tissue culture technology. In our study, we chose normal root, hairy root and calli cultures of Linum species. We investigated their cytotoxic activity on 5 human cell lines, K562 (chronic myeloid leukemia), Jurkat (T cell leukemia), Hela (cervix adenocarcinoma), A549 (lung carcinoma) and Fen (bladder carcinoma) by MTT assay. Among studied cultures, hairy root culture of L. album showed the best cyototxic activity on all cell lines. Callus culture of L. persicum and L. glaucom had also significant cytotoxic activity on all cell lines. Normal root culture of L. mucronatum showed weak cytotoxic activity on Jurkat and significant activity on other cell lines. Hairy root culture of L. nodiflorum had no cytotoxic activity on Jurkat but significant cytotoxicity on other cell lines. Hairy root culture of L. catharticum showed no cytotoxicity on Jurkat, weak cytotoxicity on K562 and significant cytotoxic activity on other cell line. The cyototoxic activity of Linum cultures investigated here could be due to lignan compounds. Therefore, Linum cultures appear as valuable candidates for isolation of cytotoxic compounds in large scales.