Cytotoxic effects of selective species of Caryophyllaceae in Iran

Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide and causes serious problems in human life. It is developed by uncontrolled growth of a cell or a group of cells. There are many difficulties in treatment of cancer and many researchers are involved in investigating for effective drugs to treat the disease. Caryophyllaceae is a large family of about 86 genera and 2200 herbaceous or subshrub species. The family is known for its ornamental plants and saponin compounds. In the present study, the potential cytotoxic activity of 17 selected species from Caryophyllaceae has been investigated against MCF-7, HepG-2, A-549, HT-29 and MDBK cells using MTT assay. Five species exhibited cytotoxic effects with IC50 values < 100 μg/mL. Silene ampullata and Acanthophyllum bracteatum extracts were toxic only against MCF-7 cell line suggesting them as suitable candidates for more investigations of breast cancer studies.