Two Iranian wildflowers show promise killing cancer cells in lab tests
Medicinal Plants
A scraggly mullein-family wildflower growing wild on a hillside in Iran just outperformed dozens of other plants at selectively killing cancer cells, a reminder that unassuming roadside plants can hide serious pharmacology.
Scientists gathered 78 different plants growing in a region of Iran and tested extracts from each one against several types of cancer cells grown in lab dishes. Two plants stood out: a wildflower called Verbascum kurdicum and a daisy relative called Anthemis odonthostephana both killed cancer cells effectively while leaving normal, healthy cells mostly alone. That selectivity is the exciting part: lots of things can kill cells, but finding something that targets cancer cells specifically is what makes a plant worth studying further for potential medicines.
Key Findings
78 plants from Ilam province, Iran were tested via MTT assay against four cancer cell lines (A549, HepG2, HT-29, MCF7) and one normal cell line (MDBK)
Verbascum kurdicum methanol fraction showed no toxicity to normal MDBK cells up to 100 μg/mL while killing MCF7 breast cancer cells (IC50=24.7±2.1 μg/mL, selectivity index >4.1)
Anthemis odonthostephana chloroform fraction was effective against all tested cancer cell lines (IC50=20.0±2.2 μg/mL against MCF7, selectivity index=2)
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers tested 78 plants from Iran's Ilam province against cancer cells in lab dishes and found two, Verbascum kurdicum and Anthemis odonthostephana, that killed cancer cells while sparing normal cells, making them promising leads for new cancer drugs.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Identification of Potent Cytotoxic Plants from Ilam: An In Vitro Approach
Background and objectives: Despite the innovative technologies and the common treatments, cancer remains a significant problem. Since medicinal plants play a crucial role in guiding the development...
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