One of the cancer-related deaths is gastric cancer in this area. Onosma dichroanthum Boiss. roots have been used as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory for wound healing treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro cytotoxic and anticancer effects of O. dichroanthum Boiss. roots from the Golestan province of Iran. After identification of the taxonomical effect of O. dichroanthum Boiss., different concentrations of the hydroalcoholic root extract were used. Three different time periods (24, 48, and 72 h) were used to treat AGS gastric cancer and L-929 normal fibroblasts cell lines. The evaluation of different concentrations of root extract was performed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The 48 h treatment affected cell survival, while the concentration of 64 μg/mL was determined as IC50 concentrations at 48 h incubation time. The 48 h incubation time with 64 μg/mL showed the best effectiveness on cancerous cell-line while being safe for normal cell-line. Our results show that O. dichroanthum Boiss. roots extract may have cytotoxic and safe effects on gastric cancer cell-line and normal cells in 48 h treatment periods, respectively. The results indicated the O. dichroanthum Boiss. may be as an effective anticancer agent (gastric cancer).

Gastric cancer is one of the main cancer-related death causes in the world threatening almost 12 million human lives by 2020. Achillea millefolium L. (yarrow) with domestic Iranian name of Bumadaran, has been as a curative plant for several medical conditions for a long time. Its antimicrobial and wound healing effects have been reported and in this study, we aimed to survey the in-vitro cytotoxic and anti-cancer effects of this plant. After taxonomically identification of Achillea millefolium L., its hydroalcoholic extract was extracted and the AGS gastric cancer and L-929 normal fibroblastic cell-lines with treated by the different concentrations of extract in 3 time periods (24, 48, and 72 hrs). MTT assay was performed for the evaluation of cytotoxic effects. The 24 hrs treatment did not affect cell survival, notably, while the concentrations of 64 and 16 µg/ml were determined as IC 50 concentrations at 48 and 72 hrs incubation times respectively. The 72 hrs incubation time with 16 µg/ml showed the best effectiveness on cancerous cell-line while being safe for normal cell-line. The long-term treatment of AGS cancer cell-line by low concentrations of yarrow extract could be useful for the cytotoxicity upon this type of cancerous cells.

Introduction Oxidative stress known as a predictive marker for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases could be measured through pro‐oxidant antioxidant balance (PAB). The present study aimed to evaluate PAB and its association with high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP) in the serum of postmenopausal women with diabetes mellitus. Methods In this case–control study, 99 diabetic and 100 healthy postmenopausal women without diabetes mellitus were recruited. Serum PAB values, hs‐CRP, lipid profile, insulin, and vitamin D levels were measured. Moreover, insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR, HOMA‐β and QUICKI), waist circumference (WC), waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR), waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR), and body mass index (BMI) were calculated. Results Serum PAB, hs‐CRP, insulin resistance, HOMA‐β, QUICKI, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), and triglycerides (TG) levels were significantly higher in the postmenopausal women with diabetes mellitus, while there was no significant difference in the total cholesterol (TC), serum insulin, WC, WHR, WHtR and vitamin D levels between the groups. Pearson correlation coefficient showed that HDL‐C and insulin levels were directly correlated with serum PAB. Also, there was a significant direct relationship between LDL‐C and insulin levels and hs‐CRP. There was no meaningful relationship between serum insulin and vitamin D levels and other assessed parameters. Backward logistic regression showed a positive relationship between diabetes mellitus and serum PAB and an inverse relationship with serum HDL levels. Conclusions Serum PAB, hs‐CRP concentration, and lipid profile were significantly different between postmenopausal women with and without diabetes mellitus. These differences may contribute to the development of coronary complications.