Antiproliferative Effects of Pancratium Maritimum Extracts on Normal and Cancerous Cells

Background: plants are an important natural source of compounds used in cancer therapy. pancratium maritimum contains potential anti-cancer agents such as alkaloids. in this study, we investigated the anti-proliferative effects of p. maritimum extracts on mda-mb-231 human epithelial adenocarcinoma cell line and on normal lymphocytes in vitro. methods: leaves, flowers, roots, and bulbs of p. maritimum were collected and their contents were extracted and diluted to different concentrations that were applied on mda-mb-231 cells and normal human lymphocytes in vitro for different intervals. cells viability, proliferation, cell cycle distribution, apoptosis, and growth were evaluated by flow cytometry and microscopy. parametric unpaired t-test was used to compare effects of plant extracts on treated cell cultures with untreated control cell cultures. ic_50 was also calculated.results: p. maritimum extract had profound effects onmda-mb-321 cells. it inhibited cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. the ic_50 values were 0.039, 0.035, and 0.026 mg/ml after 48, 72, and 96 hours of treatment with0.1 mg/ml concentration of bulb extract, respectively. those values were 0.051 and 0.03 mg/ml after 72 and 96 hours for root extract, respectively, and 0.048 mg/ml after 96 hours for flower extract. there were no significant effects of p. maritimum bulb extracts on normal lymphocytes proliferation. conclusion: p. maritimum extract has anti-proliferative effects on mda-mb-231 cell line in vitro. the effects imply the involvement of mechanisms that inhibits cell growth and arresting cells at s and g_2/m phases. cyclin b1, bcl-2, and ki67 expression was also affected.