Cytotoxicity evaluation of hydro-alcoholic extract of <i>Prangos pabularia</i> Lindl root on breast cancer MCF-7 cell line

Introduction: Breast cancer has the second worldwide rank and is expected to reach more than 3.2 million new cases by 2050. In Afghanistan, Prangos pabularia plant is used for many purposes, including cancer treatment with no scientific evidence. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of root extract of P. pabularia collected from Afghanistan on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Methods: The hydro-alcoholic extract of P. pabularia roots at the concentrations of 50, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1000 µg/mL was studied on MCF7 breast cancer cell line after 24, 48, and 72 hours. The cytotoxicity assessment was done by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide tetrazolium (MTT) assay, spectrophotometry, and Annexin-A5 apoptotic-flow cytometry. Results: The cytotoxic effect of the extract exhibited dose-dependent at 24 hours exposure time with IC50 of 756 µg/mL. However, at 48 and 72 hours exposure, the cytotoxicity effects were observed in high extract concentrations with IC50 of 682 and 450 µg/mL, respectively. The extract concentration at 600 µg/mL after 72 hours decreased the cell viability below 50%. This concentration was selected for apoptosis assay. The flow cytometric analysis indicated that the extract had significant cytotoxic effects (P&lt;0.01) by inducing early apoptosis on the cell line. Conclusion: This research revealed that P. pabularia extract represented cell toxicity against the MCF-7 cell line. In addition to the claimed therapeutic uses, proliferative activity was observed in some conditions. Further studies are necessary to confirm this plant’s efficacy and safety.