Evaluation of cytotoxic effect of aqueous extract of Nopal fruit on liver cancer cell line (HepG2)

The medicinal plants in cancer treatment are very important. Nopal fruit (Opuntia ficus-indica) because of its phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties are important in cytotoxicity studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of nopal aqueous extract on the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) and compare the effect of this extract on normal mouse fibroblast cell line (L929) as a control. After extraction by maceration and treatment of cells with various concentrations of the extract for 24 and 48 hours, the toxic effect of the extract on cell morphology and viability was investigated by inverted microscope and MTT (3-4, 5 dimethylthiazole 2-yl 5,2-diphenyl tetrazolium), respectively. Data analysis was done by PrismDemo and one-way ANOVA test at a significant level (P<0.05). The results showed that the extract had no significant effect on morphology and growth (P>0.05) of normal cells and the death rate was 15% at the highest dose after 48 hours, However, it caused morphological changes and a significant growth-inhibiting (P<0.05) in cancer cells after 48 hours and IC50 was 0.44 mg /ml after 48 hours for cancer cells. Therefore, the aqueous extract of Nopal fruit has the inhibitory effect on the growth of liver cancer cells and no cytotoxicity of normal cells. So, it can be used to prevent cancer or as a supplement in chemotherapy. Moreover, due to the fact that the extract was total, it is recommended to investigate the effect of the active substances of the fruit.