Cytotoxicity of Fenugreek Sprout and Seed Extracts and Their Bioactive Constituents on MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract

Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (fenugreek), a member of the legume family (Fabaceae), is a promising source of bioactive phytochemicals, which explains its traditional use for a variety of metabolic disorders including cancer. The current study aimed to evaluate extracts of fenugreek seeds and sprouts, and some of their constituents, to compare their cytotoxic and antiproliferative activities in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The extracts were chemically characterised using high-resolution accurate mass liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to reveal the detection of compounds assigned as flavone C-glycosides including those derived from apigenin and luteolin, in addition to isoflavones. Five different flavones or their glycosides (apigenin, vicenin-2, vitexin, luteolin and orientin) and two isoflavones (daidzein and formononetin) were quantified in the fenugreek extracts. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay using MCF-7 cells treated with fenugreek methanolic extracts showed dose- and time-dependent effects on cell viability. The MCF-7 cancer cells treated with the fenugreek methanolic extracts also displayed increased relative mitochondrial DNA damage as well as suppressed metastasis and proliferation. This study demonstrates the potential anti-cancer effects of fenugreek seeds and sprouts and reveals fenugreek sprouts as an untapped resource for bioactive compounds.

Anti-Cancer Effects of Trigonella foenum in Neuroblastoma Cell Line

“…Sebastian et al showed that Fenugreek ethanolic extract reduced cell viability and triggered early apoptotic changes such as phosphatidylserine reversal and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential on the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 (13). In a different study, it was shown that both MeOH extracts from Fenugreek sprouts were more effective than those from seeds (14,15). Kaviarasan et al found that Fenugreek had a cytoprotective effect against ethanol-induced cytotoxicity in human liver cells (16).…”

Evaluation of Zamia floridana A. DC. Leaves and Its Isolated Secondary Metabolites as Natural Anti-Toxoplasma and Anti-Cancer Agents Using In Vitro and In Silico Studies

“…Four compounds of them were isolated for the first time from Z. floridana leaves. These compounds were tested previously in other studies against breast and colon cell lines in vitro and they showed cytotoxic effects [ 2 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ], which could account for the cytotoxic effect of the n -butanol fraction of Z. floridana. The potent toxoplasmocidal effect of n -BuOH fraction encouraged us to investigate and predict the possible mechanisms of these compounds to inhibit T. gondii using in silico molecular docking study.…”

Cytotoxic Activity of Herbal Medicines as Assessed in Vitro: A Review

“…Cytotoxicity assays (CTAs) of herbal medicines are dependent on the concentration, mechanism of cytotoxicity, evaluation methods, cell type, components and exposure over time [36–39] . There are several methods for measuring cell sensitivity to herbal extracts, and cytotoxicity evaluation [40,41] . The use of standard test methods for cytotoxicity assessment could enable determination of concentration that may result in higher and lower toxicity [42–44] .…”

“…[36][37][38][39] There are several methods for measuring cell sensitivity to herbal extracts, and cytotoxicity evaluation. [40,41] The use of standard test methods for cytotoxicity assessment could enable determination of concentration that may result in higher and lower toxicity. [42][43][44] In vitro cytotoxicity or cell viability assays provide many advantages and disadvantages, which are summarized in Table 1.…”