Evaluation of Antitumour Activity of Ethanolic Extract from Tribulus terrestris in Human Breast Cancer Cells

Introduction: Breast cancer is the form of cancer that occurs in the breast cells. After skin cancer, breast cancer is considered to be the most common cancer diagnosed in women. The number of deaths associated with this disease was increased in case of lack of early detection. Tribulus terrestris is an annual herb belonging to the Zygophyllaceae family. Flavonoids, alkaloids, and saponins are some of the main phytoconstituents of the herb. They are known for their pharmacological actions such as anti carcinogenic, anti inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant properties.

Aim: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the antitumor activity of ethanolic extract from Tribulus terrestris in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells.

Materials and Methods: The effect of Tribulus terrestris on cell viability was measured by MTT assay carried against breast cancer cells and morphological changes were investigated with phase contrast microscopy to confirm its antitumor activity.

Results: the cell viability assay results indicate that 24hrs treatment with ethanolic extract of significantly reduces the cell viability in dose dependent manner. At 40 μg/ml of the Tribulus terrestris extract inhibits 50% cell viability and it has been fixed as IC50 value for further Tribulus terrestris experiments.

Conclusion: From the results, the extracts were cytotoxic to the human breast cancer cell and it might be a good therapeutic value for further investigations needed to understand the mechanisms to develop antitumor agents.