Cytotoxicity Effect of Zataria Multiflora Boiss. on Two Human Colon Carcinoma Cell Lines

Background and objectives: natural products are one of the major sources for investigations of novel medicines. zataria multiflora boiss (zm) has shown pharmacological activities especially in gastrointestinal tract; however, there are limited studies about its cytotoxicity effects. in this study, the effect of zataria multiflora was examined on two colon cancer cell lines (sw-48 and ht-29). methods: hydro-alcoholic extract of zm and its fractions including chloroform, petroleum ether and methanol extract were prepared by warm maceration method. different concentrations were prepared and examined on sw-48 and ht-29 cell lines using 2-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) 2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (mtt) assay. results: the results of the present study have shown the cytotoxic effect of some fractions of zm. the most considerable cytotoxic effect was shown against ht-29 cell line. also, total zm extract and the petroleum ether fraction demonstrated cytotoxic effects with ic50 values of 44.22 and 33.42 μg/ml on sw-48 and ht-29 cell lines, respectively. conclusion: zataria multiflora was cytotoxic to against colon cancer cell lines ht-29 and sw-48.