In this study, cytotoxic effects of the
dichloromethane,
ethyl acetate,
ethanol, and aqueous extracts of the aerial parts of Cyclotrichium niveum (Boiss.) Manden. & Scheng (Lamiaceae) were evaluated. We tested HeLa, MCF-7
cancer cells, and MRC-5 and MCF-10A normal cells. The
ethyl acetate and
dichloromethane extracts induced cytotoxicity whereas the
ethanol and aqueous extracts had no cytotoxic activity against both
cancer cells. IC50 values of the
dichloromethane extract were 353.0 ± 84.30 μg/ml, 114.8 ± 40.34 μg/ml, 39 ± 0.56 μg/ml, and 49 ± 13 μg/ml in HeLa, MCF-7, MRC-5, MCF-10A cells, respectively. IC50 values of the
ethyl acetate extract were 117.0 ± 36.24 μg/ml in HeLa cells, 156.3 ± 19.86 μg/ml in MCF-7 cells, 1100 ± 340 μg/ml in MRC-5 cells and 7900 ± 1200 μg/ml in MCF-10A cells. Additionally, the
ethyl acetate extract showed more selectivity to HeLa and MCF-7
cancer cells than MRC-5 and MCF-10A normal cells. Our results of HPLC analysis showed that
apigenin in the
ethyl acetate extract (2.2518 ± 0.0005 mg/100 mg extract) might be responsible of that selective cytotoxic effect. In the current work, we have shown for the first time that C. niveum has cytotoxic properties in the
cancer cell lines tested.