In vitro cytotoxic activity of certain succulent plants against human colon, breast and liver cancer cell lines

Abstract

© 2020 SAAB Among the plants which are determined to be a promising source of anticarcenogenic agents are members of Agavaceae family which are common in tropical and subtropical regions such as Egypt. In this study, cytotoxic activity were assessed for the methanolic extracts and fractions from five members of Agavaceae family: Sansevieria cylindrica Bojer., Polianthes tuberosa L., Sansevieria trifasciata Prain., Yucca filamentosa L. and Furcraea watsoniana Hort. against MCF-7 (breast), HepG-2 (hepatoma), and Caco-2 (colon) cancer cell lines by MTT method. The n-hexane fraction of P. tuberosa leaves extract demonstrated strong cytotoxic potential against all three cancer cell lines (CC50<20 µg/ml). The ethyl acetate fractions of Y. filamentosa and F. watsoniana leaves significantly inhibited proliferation of hepatocellular HepG-2 (CC50 = 6.21 µg/ml and 19.07 µg/ml, respectively) and intestinal epithelium Caco-2 carcinoma cells (CC50 = 18.86 µg/ml and 23.25 µg/ml, respectively). Presumably, the cytotoxic activity exhibited by n-hexane fraction of P. tuberosa, ethyl acetate fractions of Y. filamentosa and F. watsoniana may be related to the steroidal saponins that are present in these samples.