Anti-cancer Properties of a Sesquiterpene Lactone-bearing Fraction from Artemisia khorassanica

Background: Artemisia species are important medicinal plants throughout the world. The present in vitrostudy, using a sesquiterpene lactone-bearing fraction prepared from Artemisia khorassanica (SLAK), sought toinvestigate anti-cancer properties of this plant and elucidate potential underlying mechanisms for the effects.Materials and
Methods: Anti-cancer potential was evaluated by toxicity against human melanoma and fibroblastcell lines. To explore the involved pathways, pattern of any cell death was determined using annexin-V/PI stainingand also the expression of Bax and cytochrome c was investigated by Western blotting.
Results: The resultsshowed that SLAK selectively caused a concentration-related inhibition of proliferation of melanoma cells thatwas associated with remarkable increase in early events and over-expression of both Bax and cytochrome c.
Conclusions: The current experiment indicates that Artemisia may have anti-cancer activity. We anticipate thatthe ingredients may be employed as therapeutic candidates for melanoma.