Cytotoxic Effects of Artemisia annua Methanol Extract on Cancer Cell Lines in Vitro

In most cases, drugs used for the treatment of cancer are not effective or have unpleasant side-effects. This has forced scientists to find more effective drugs with less toxicity. Artemisia is an important medicinal plant in the world and anti-tumoral activity of some Artemisia species has been reported. This study was designed for evaluation of anti-tumoral effect of methanol extract isolated from Artemisia annua on different cancer cell lines. Methanol extract of Artemisia annua was prepared. Cultivated gastric (AGS), cervix (Hela), colon (HT-29) and breast (MCF-7) cancer cell lines and normal fibroblast cells (L929) were incubated with different concentrations of methanol extract for 72 hours and cell growth inhibition was determined using MTT assay. Results of MTT assay showed strong and dose-dependent inhibition of cancer cell growth by methanol extract of Artemisia annua. This extract caused a significant decrease in proliferation of tested cancer cell lines and had less toxicity on normal cells. Since the results suggest anti- tumoral activity of Artemisia annua, isolation of effective compound/s of this extract and evaluation of its/their effects on tumor-bearing animal models are suggested.