Abstract

Stems of Ficus hispida L. have long been prescribed as one of the constituents in various Thai traditional remedies for cancer therapy. In the present study, crude ethanol extract and its sequential fractions from F. hispida L.: water, methanol: water, methanol and ethyl acetate fraction were tested in vitro against SKBR3, MDA-MB435, MCF7 and T47D human breast cancer cell lines. The results have shown that the methanol extract exhibited antineoplastic activity against T47D cells. The cytotoxic activity was further examined by MTT assay with more dilution, colony forming assay and cell cycle analysis. The IC50 of this extract against T47D cell was 110.3 ± 9.63 μg/mL by MTT assay and colony forming assay confirmed the cell growth inhibition in a dose-dependent manner. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated a rising of apoptotic cell population in herbal treated cells. Therefore, F. hispida L. used in traditional medicine may provide some benefits in the treatment of breast cancer.

Key words: Ficus hispida L., T47D, SKBR3, MCF7, MDA-MB435, MTT, colony count, cell cycle, antineoplastic.