• Antiproliferative activity of britannin, a sesquiterpene lactone isolated from Inula aucheriana
  • Sadegh Rajabi,1 Maryam Hamzeloo-Moghadam,2,*
    1. Traditional Medicine and Materia Medica Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1434875451, Iran
    2. Traditional Medicine and Materia Medica Research Center and Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1516745811, Iran


  • Introduction: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Britannin is a sesquiterpene lactone isolated from Inula aucheriana with anticancer activities. We aimed to evaluate the antiproliferative effect of britannin on the human MCF-7 breast cancer cell line.
  • Methods: The antiproliferative effect of britannin on MCF-7 cells was assayed using the MTT method. Briefly, MCF-7 cells were seeded into 96-well microplates and left for 24 hours to adhere to the wells. Afterward, the cells were treated with different doses of britannin (0-100 µM) for 24, 48, and 72 h. The medium was discarded and the cells were treated with MTT solution for 4 h. Subsequently, the MTT solution was replaced with DMSO 1% solution. Finally, the absorbance of formazan crystal was read at 570 and 630 nm and the proliferation rate of MCF-7 cells was calculated.
  • Results: Treatment of MCF-7 cells with various concentrations of britannin for 24 h had no remarkable effect on the proliferation rate of this cancer cell line. However, britannin treatment for 48 significantly inhibited the proliferation of these cells with IC50 value of 23.9 µM compared to the controls. This sesquiterpene lactone also significantly decreased the proliferation of MCF-7 cells 72 h after treatment (IC50 = 21.5 µM).
  • Conclusion: According to the results of the MTT assay in the present investigation, britannin prevented the proliferation of human MCF-7 cells by exerting cytotoxic effects on these cancer cells. This may suggest britannin as a natural compound for the suppression of breast cancer growth.
  • Keywords: Britannin, Inula aucheriana, Breast cancer, Antiproliferation.