Cytotoxic Effect of Iris germanica L. Rhizomes Extract on Human Melanoma Cell Line

Background: Melanoma is the leading cause of 80% of skin cancer worldwide due to its high proliferation rate, metastatic nature, and limited effective therapies. Given the rapid increase in its incidence compared to other skin cancers, new therapeutic agents are needed to control the disease. Scientists are interested in medicinal plants due to their anticancer properties. The rhizomes of the Iris germanica L., known as “Irsa”, is one of the herbs used in traditional Persian medicine for the treatment of various skin cancers. Objectives: This study aimed at investigating the cytotoxic effects of Iris germanica on A375 melanoma and AGO-1522 normal human fibroblast cell lines for the first time. Methods: The ethanolic extract was prepared by the maceration method. Cell viability and cytotoxic activities were assessed through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and flow cytometric assay, using annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) staining. Results: IC50 values were estimated for the A375 melanoma and the AGO-1522 normal cell lines. We revealed that the IC50 for the A375 melanoma was 0.0438 mg/mL and for the AGO-1522 normal cell line was 0.8494 mg/mL after 48 hours of treatment. Furthermore, flow cytometry analysis illustrated that 0.125 mg/mL of the Iris germanica extract could lead to 55.24% apoptosis of the A375 melanoma cell line. The same concentration of the Iris germanica extracts only lead to 8.76% apoptosis in the AGO-1522 cell line. Conclusions: Iris germanica extract has considerable cytotoxic effects on the human melanoma cell line. Further studies are required to demonstrate the therapeutic effects of Iris germanica on melanoma cancer.