Cytotoxicity of the Extracts of Lamiaceae Plant Species against a Breast Cancer Cell Line

Background: breast cancer is a common human neoplasia in women. species of the lamiaceae plant have been found to exert in vitro anti-proliferative activity on breast cancer cells. the aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of the extracts of ten species from the lamiaceae family on a breast cancer cell line. we also examined the selective indices of the fractions and essential oil of the most effective extract.methods: the plant species were harvested, dried and authenticated. the hydro-alcoholic extract of each plant was examined for its cytotoxicity on the breast cancer cell line (mcf-7) using mtt assay. the n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions were prepared from nepeta crispa extract. hydro-distillation method was used to isolate the nepeta crispa’s essential oil. the essential oil and the fractions were examined in vitro for the cytotoxic effects against both hek293 and mcf-7 cell lines.results: the nepeta crispa extract exhibited significant cytotoxic activity on mcf-7 (ic50 = 59 ±3.4μg/ml) compared to other extracts. the n-hexane fraction of nepeta crispa demonstrated the highest cytotoxicity (ic50 = 65.47 ±4.3μg/ml) among other fractions. the essential oil exhibited concentration-dependent inhibition against the growth of cancer cells, and showed the most inhibitory effect against mcf-7 cells (ic50 = 18.15 ±2.7μg/ml) with a selectivity index of 9.69.conclusions: based on the results, the n-hexane fraction and essential oil of nepeta crispa may be the potential sources of biologically active components to develop novel drugs for breast cancer treatment.