Annihilating efficacy of Euphorbia hirta L. extracts on Artemia salina Nauplii and human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7 & MDA-MB-231)

Abstract

Cancer is one of the major causes of death both in developed and developing countries. Recently the secondary metabolites produced by plants are being investigated due to their promising anticancer activities. Accordingly in the present study the anti-cancer potentials of Euphorbia hirta L., a well-known medicinal plant was explored for its anticancer activity. The methanol and aqueous extracts of Euphorbia hirta L. (EHA and EHM) were tested against Artemia salina nauplii for toxicity and MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines for its cytotoxic potentials. Both the extracts EHA and EHM exhibited maximum toxicity towards Artemia salina among which the methanol extract was able to kill all the nauplii in its highest concentration. Excitingly, Euphorbia hirta L. extracts exhibited minimal cytotoxicity on normal cells (VERO) than in human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7). In conclusion, the results suggest that EHM extract of the selected plant may have promising therapeutic potential against human breast cancers and may lead to the development of new clinical drug specifically against ER-positive breast cancer.