Cytotoxic effect of Chelidonium majus on cancer cell lines

Cancer is a growing health problem coming next to the cardiovascular diseases regarding the morbidity and mortality with some international geographical variation according to its type. The purpose of the present study was to investigate potential in vitro cytotoxic effect of the aqueous extract of Chelidonium majus on two human cancer cell lines (pelvic: RD and cervical: HeLa). The extract exhibited a time- and concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on both cell lines. The highest significant inhibitory effect of extract recorded after 72 hrs of exposure at highest concentration (1000 μg/ ml), it was achieved 58.4% and 65.1% on RD and HeLa, respectively. The treatment with 500 and 1000 μg/ml of extract caused significant reduction in viability of RD and HeLa cells during all periods of exposure. These results revealed that C. majus possessed cytotoxic effect on cancerous cell lines, which makes it has possible role in medical oncology.