HALA M. N. AL- SAILY, RABAB OMRAN WALAA S. HASSAN AND NUHA F. KADHIM
Abstract
Investigation of the antioxidant and anticancer activities of phenolic extract of PeganumharmalaL. seeds against breast cancer cell line in comparison to non- tumorigenic fetal hepatic cell line.P. harmala extract was prepared using a solvent system composed of Ethanol: Methanol: HCl: Deionized water (DW)at a ratio 50:29:1:20. The total phenolic contents were assayed by the Folinââ¬âCiocalteu method using Gallicacid as a standard, the total flavonoid contents were estimated using quercetin as a standard. Antioxidant activity was estimated by determining the index of 50% reduction of the radical absorbance (IC50) usingABTS (2,2ââ¬â¢-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging assay. P.harmalaacetonefraction (70%) was separated by adsorption chromatography method using a silica gel column. This fraction was used as an anticancer substance to investigate its cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cell line Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) and a normal cell line of non-tumorigenic fetal hepatic cell line (WRL-68). The P. harmala extract had high phenolic and flavonoids contents, which were having the ability to scavenge the free radicals. The cytotoxic activity of the P. harmala acetone fraction against the normal cell line was more than breast cancer cellline (P ì 0.05). The phenolic compounds of P. harmala had harmful effects on both normal and cancer cell lines.