Cytotoxic and Apoptotic Effects of Different Extracts ofArtemisia turanicaKrasch. on K562 and HL-60 Cell Lines
Artemisiais an important genus of Iranian flora. Cytotoxic activities for some species of the genus have already been reported. In this study, we have investigated the cytotoxic effects ofn-hexane, CH2Cl2, EtOAc, EtOH, and EtOH/H2O (1 : 1) extracts ofA. turanicaKrasch. on two human leukemic cancer cell lines (K562 and HL-60) and J774 as normal cells using alamarBlue (resazurin) assay. PI staining of the fragmented DNA and western blot analysis were used to evaluate the possible apoptotic effect of the extract. The CH2Cl2extract ofA. turanicashowed the most antiproliferative effect on cancer cells among all tested extracts with IC50values of 69 and 104 μg/mL on K562 and HL-60 cells, respectively, whereas the normal cells were not affected significantly by this extract. Sub-G1 peak in the flow cytometry histogram of the cells treated with CH2Cl2extract ofA. turanicaand cleavage of PARP protein confirmed the induction of apoptosis with CH2Cl2extract. Taken together, the findings of the present work suggest the anticancer potential of CH2Cl2extract ofA. turanicaon human leukemic cancer cell lines.