Antiproliferative Effects of Different Concentrations of Auraptene on MCF7 Cancer Cell Line

Auraptene is a coumarin derivative extracted from citrus species, such as lemon, grapefruit, and orange. To date, auraptene has shown antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, antiapoptotic, and antitumor activities. Among these, antitumor activity has become more important over the recent years, while its underlying mechanism is not fully understood. The current study was conducted to evaluate the antiproliferative effect of auraptene and its mechanisms on MCF7 cell line.

This experimental study investigated whether hesperidin affected the proliferation of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. MCF7 cells were cultured in DMEM medium with 10% fetal bovine serum, 100 μg/ml streptomycin, and 100 units/ml penicillin. The cells were incubated in order to be treated with different concentrations of auraptene and time points. Subsequently, the amount of cytotoxicity and apoptosis was measured utilizing MTT and PI staining.

The MTT assay revealed that auraptene had a significant effect on cell viability and induced apoptosis in MCF7 cells at concentrations of 75, 100, 130, 170, and 200 μM.

In this study, through the induction of apoptosis, auraptene prevented the growth and inhibited the proliferation of MCF7 cells at high concentrations in a dose-dependent manner. However, further investigation is needed to reveal the mechanisms of auraptene concerning apoptosis induction.