Anti-cancer and anti-inflamatory effects of Centaurea solstitialis extract on human cancer cell lines

Objectives: Natural products originating from plants have been used for many years in the treatment of various diseases including cancer. Centaurea solstitialis subsp. solstitialis is used in Turkish folk medicine. This study was the first to determine in vitro biological effects of ethanolic extract from flowering parts of C. solstitialis L. ssp. solstitialis collected from Mugla province. Materials and Methods: Cytotoxic effect was evaluated against Daudi, A549 and HeLa cancer cells and one normal BEAS-2B cell line using MTT assay. Flow cytometric analysis and caspase-3 activity assay were performed to detect apoptotic cell death. Angiogenic factor (VEGF) secretion and the release of IL-1α, IL-6 and TNF-α by the cells treated with the extract were measured using ELISA assay. Results: The extract exhibited cytotoxic effects against the all cancer cell lines used but HeLa and Daudi were the most sensitive cells with IC50 values of 63.18 μg/ml and 69.27 μg/ml, respectively. Selective cytotoxicity was observed between HeLa and normal BEAS-2B cell lines. The extract arrested the cell cycle at the S and G2 phases. In addition, apoptotic cell death was detected in HeLa and A549 cells. Moreover, the plant extract caused a significant decrease in VEGF secretion of A549 cells and a fluctuation in IL-1α, IL-6 and TNF-α secretion of A549 and Daudi cells. un co rre cte d p roo f