Cytotoxic activity of Lepidium sativum and Ficus carica extracts on four tumor cell lines

Finding a cure for cancer is a worldwide desire because cancer comprises widespread diseases that cause many deaths worldwide. Experts generally consider cancer to be multiple diseases, because there are many forms of cancer and no single treatment for all cancer types. It is important to develop mechanisms to treat cancers that will (a) not harm normal cells and (b) possibly inhibit the recurrence of the disease. Natural compounds have been a valuable source for the treatment of human diseases. This study examined two medicinal plants to determine their cytotoxic activity against four tumor cell lines. The two plants were Lepidium sativum and Ficus carica. Methanol extractions from each test plant produced the secondary compounds used to analyze cell growth. AlamarBlue reagent was used to measure cell viability. The cancer cell lines tested were cervical cancer (HeLa), lung cancer (A549), and breast cancer (BT549 and MCF-7). Data analysis showed significant differences of reduction in cell viability in the four cancer cell lines exposed to Lepidium sativum and Ficus carica. MCF-7 was the cell line most affected by lepidium-seed extract, with a 16 µg/ml value for a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50). MCF-7 also was found to be more sensitive to fig extract than the cancer drug tamoxifen at the concentration (24 µg/ml). HeLa cell viability also showed sensitivity to fig extract at the lowest IC50 value (5 µg/ml)