In Vitro Cytotoxic and Anti-inflammatory Activities of Tanacetum argenteum (Lam.) Willd. subsp. argenteum Extract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic potential of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanolic extracts of Tanacetum argenteum subsp. argenteum.

Materials and methods: Tanacetum L. is the third largest genus of Asteraceae family and is represented by 60 taxa in Turkish flora. Sesquiterpene lactones and pyrethrins are the main chemical groups of the genus. T. argenteum subsp. argenteum is an endemic taxa that is distributed in the Central and South Anatolia.

Results: In vitro anti-inflammatory activity was assayed using iNOS and NF-κB inhibition tests on RAW264.7 and HeLa cells. The cytotoxic activities were tested against ten cell lines using MTT assays.

Conclusion: As a result, the n-hexane extract was found more active than the positive control parthenolide in iNOS test (IC₅₀: 0.627±0.16 μg/mL) and cytotoxic experiments against PC3 and MPANC-96 cell lines (IC₅₀: 2.85±0.51 μg/mL and 5.35±1.24 μg/mL, respectively).

Keywords: MTT; NF-κB; Tanacetum argenteum subsp. argenteum; anti-inflammatory; cytotoxicity; iNOS.