Investigation of cytotoxic activity for Achillea talagonica and A. tenuifolia

Achillea (Asteraceae) comprises 115 species, which are mainly distributed in Europe, Asia, and North Africa and as an introduced plant in the New World. The genus Achillea, generally called Bumadaran in Persian, is well known for medicinal properties such as anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects. Achillea has long been used in traditional medicine for treatment of neuralgia and rheumatic pain. Achillea talagonica and Achillea tenuifolia are two of nineteen herbaceous species growing in north of Iran. In previous studies, A. talagonica showed the strongest in vivo immunosuppressive activity and A. tenuifolia had an antimicrobial effect. In this study, we examined the cytotoxic activity of the ethyl acetate, methanol and aqueous methanol extracts of these two species by Brine Shrimp Cytotoxicity Assay, which is a well-known screening method for finding the active natural products using Artemia Salina eggs. The results show that all extracts from both plants have a good cytotoxic effect against the larve of A. salina. The minimum lethal concentration of aqueous methanolic extract of A. tenuifolia is 250 µg/ml. The effective concentration of the methanolic extract of A. talagonica is more than 100 µg/ml. Thus, Ethyl acetate extract of A. tenuifolia is more effective than A. talagonica. Finally, Achillea talagonica and A. tenuifolia are two effective plants on the larve of A. salina. Different polarity extracts of both species showed cytotoxic activity.