Anti-proliferative effects of ziziphus jujuba extract on growth and proliferation of Sk-Br-3 tumor cell line and assessment of cell viability

Introduction Cancer is a deadly disease and the second leading cause of death, after cardiovascular diseases in the world. In this regard, breast cancer has been introduced as one of the most common known cancer and the leading cause of deaths in the woman. Based on the cancer cells characters, several therapeutic approaches have been proposed by the scientists for treatment of the breast cancer cases. Induction of apoptosis cellular death and also inhibition of the breast cancer cells proliferation are the main therapeutic targets. In this regard, chemotherapies anti-cancer treatments besides the significant efficacies showed numerous side effects. For centuries now, plants have been long used to treat various diseases. Zizyphus jujube has shown extensive therapeutic effects on various diseases. Through the several studies, an anti-tumor efficacy of Zizyphus extracts alone or in combination with other drugs on some of the cancer cells has been determined. Additionally, it has been proved that through regulation of several apoptotic-induced signal transductions, Zizyphus jujube can induce a balance between cell proliferation and cell death. Objectives The aim of the present study was to investigate the cytotoxic effects of hydroalcoholic Zizyphus jujube extracts on skbr3 cell line and analyzed cell viability response by MTT assay. Methods Skbr3 breast cancer cells were incubated with different concentrations of Jujube extraction (0.1-4 mg/ml) for various times (0-72 h). Cell viability was assessed by Trypan Blue and 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results Jujube significantly inhibited cancer cell viability in a dose- and time- dependent manner (1.5 mg/ml). Conclusion These results indicated that Jujube may be a natural potential and promising agent to prevent or treat human cancers. Hope that by determine mechanism of effect of this herbal drug, the design of new drugs can prevent progression of breast cancer and thus can help to extend the lifetime of these patients against this silent killer

Keywords:

Breast cancer , SKBR3 cell line , Zizyphus jujuba extract , MTT assay