부산대학교 도서관

Centaureais the largest genus within the Asteraceae family. Many members of this genus are used in traditional folk medicine, such as Centaurea pulchellaused to treat skin problems such as to resolve the abscess. Although biological activities of many Centaureaspecies have been investigated in different countries and Turkey, cytotoxic effect of C. patula, C. pulchellaand C. tchihatcheffiihas not been studied yet. Melanoma is one of the most invasive and deadly forms of skin cancer. Therefore, in an ongoing effort to identify new natural anticancer products for the treatment and/or prevention of melanoma cancer, the present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of these Centaureaspecies, collected from Central Anatolia region of Turkey on cell growth and death in human melanoma cell line, A375. The results revealed that all extractswere able to inhibit, after 48 h of treatment, the growth of cancer cells, that could be related to an overall action of the phenolic compounds present. In fact, C. pulchella, with the highest level of phenolics, showed a major activity followed by C. patulaand C. tchihatcheffii. Our data also demonstrate that these natural products induce apoptotic cell death. In conclusion, the study of plant extracts for their cytotoxic and apoptotic properties has shown that medicinal herbs from Centaureaspecies might have also importance in the prevention and treatment of melanoma.