Cytotoxic activity of some ethnic medicinal plants from southwest of Iran

Background and objectives: Many people in ethnic groups of the world have trusted in plants for disease management and cure. Medicinal plants have always played a great role in the lives of Iranian people in the past and present and with no doubt in the future. Healers in different regions of Iran have been using medicinal herbs and one rich source for these cures is located in south-west of Iran, Kohgiluyeh va Boyer Ahmad province. Some species from this province have been selected for the present study and their cytotoxic activity has been evaluated. Methods: The methanol extracts of the 26 species were obtained by maceration and the extracts were investigated for cytotoxic activity in MTT assay. Results: The results revealed that four out of twenty six plants were toxic to MCF-7, A-549, HepG-2 and HT-29 cells. Conclusion: The findings of the present study specially the species with lower IC50 values (Eryngium billardieri and Nerium indicum) are suggested for further investigations in cancer studies.