For centuries, plants have been a major source for drug discovery. Some examples of anticancer agents developed from plants are the vinblastine and vincristine (from Vinca rosea), as taxol (from Taxus brevifolia) and camptothecin (from Camptotheca acuminata). Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among women in many countries worldwide. Prostate cancer remains a considerable health problem for men around the world. It is the most frequently diagnosed non-cutaneous cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men.
In the present study, we determined the cytotoxic effects of total methanol extracts and their fractions of two species from Leguminosae family, Taverniera spartea and Tephrosia persica on MCF-7 and BT-474 human breast cancer cells and also PC-3 and Du-145 prostate cancer cells. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay and flow cytometry. Extracts or fractions with an IC50 value lower than 30µg/ml were considered active.
PC-3 and Du-145 prostate cancer cells were more sensitive to these species than breast cancer cells. The petroleum ether fraction of Tephrosia persica showed the highest toxicity on all tumor cell lines tested. The IC50 value of fraction DP was 4.69 mg/ml for Du-145 after 72 h of exposure.
Further investigation is needed to determine chemical characterization of the active principles and the molecular mechanisms mediated anticancer activities of Tephrosia persica.