Cytotoxic effects of a polyphenol compound, carnosol, on human breast cancer cells

Phytochemicals in natural compounds like flavonoids, carotenoids, and alkaloids contain anti-cancer properties. Diets containing rosemary are able to reduce cancer risk due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammation and antimutagenesis. Carnosol a phenolic compound with several biological properties is found in rosemary. In the present experiment, the effects of carnosol extracted from Salvia is under investigation. Androgen-independent and androgendependent breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 cells were cultured in medium supplemented with 10% FBS. After a period of 24h pre-incubations, the cells were treated with different concentrations of carnosol for 24 and 48h. Cytotoxic effects of the drug were assessed with the MTT test and the cells morphological changes were studied microscopically. The data showed that in MDAMB-231 cells 150 μM of carnosol caused more than 50% cell death while the same effect was seen in 270 μM after 48h in MCF7s. At the same time, the cells lose their normal morphological shapes into rounded cells and some of them detached and floating to the media. These results indicated the carnosol cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells in spite of their hormone dependency.

Keywords:

Breast Cancer , Carnosol , Cytotoxic , Rosemary , Salvia