The cytotoxic effects of Ornithogalum oligophyllum and Ornithogalum umbellatum extracts

Abstract

Ornithogalum (Asparagaceae) is a genus with more than 100 species are used in traditionally in many countries, also consumed in Turkey both as food and for therapeutic purposes. In Turkey, the genus is represented by 36 species and its regional name is “tükrük otu”. This study aimed to investigate the cytotoxic effects of Ornithogalum oligophyllum and Ornithogalum umbellatum. In this context, methanol and water extracts were prepared from the aerial parts and bulbs of the plants using the Soxhlet apparatus. The cytotoxic activities of the extracts on prostate (PC-3), lung (A549), endometrium (ECC-1) cancer cell lines and human umbilical vein/vascular endothelium (HUVEC) control cell line were determined using [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3- carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) cell viability assay. According to the our findings, water extracts of O. oligophyllum and O. umbellatum had no remarkable cytotoxicity. However, methanol extracts of O. oligophyllum and O. umbellatum showed the cytotoxic effect on ECC- 1 cell line. In addition to that, methanol extract of O. umbellatum aerial parts exhibited cytotoxic activity on PC-3 cancer cell line. In summary, methanolic extracts from O. oligophyllum and O. umbellatum showed medium cytotoxic activity against the endometrium and prostate cancer cell line. These findings might be a database for future studies.