In vitro antitumor potential of Bulgarian Tanacetum vulgare L. on human breast adenocarcinoma cells

In recent decades the search for new oncotherapeutic agents of natural origin with selective antitumor activity is of significant priority for cancer treatment. The antitumor potential of the medicinal plant Tanacetum vulgare L. is limitedly studied and no data are so far available concerning the Bulgarian plant. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the in vitro antitumor potential of crude aqueous ethanolic extract of Bulgarian Tanacetum vulgare L. Anticancer effect was investigated by МТТ cell viability assay on human breast cancer cell line MCF7. Cell morphological characteristics were examined under light microscope. The analysis showed that plant extract exposure decreased considerably cancer cell viability in dose- and time dependent manner. The 50% inhibitory concentration was determined to be 286.8 μg/ml. Morphological alterations were found in treated tumor cells compared to untreated control cells. The here-presented results are the first demonstrating antitumor properties of the Bulgarian Tanacetum vulgare L. and are indicative for further more detailed investigations on the active compounds and molecular mechanisms underlying the antitumor activity.