Anticancer Activity of Micromeria fruticosa and Teucrium polium Growing in Lebanon

The anticancer activities of two Lebanese plant extract Micromeria fruticose (A) and Teucrium polium (B) and their fractions were tested against MCF7 and A549 cancer cell lines using MTT assay. Separation was carried out through column chromatography and TLC analysis. Results showed that both plants possess a promising and dose dependent inhibitory activity with IC50of extract A 28.52 and 26.47 μg/ml on MCF7 and A549 cells respectively, and that of extract B was 41 and 27.9 μg/ml on MCF7 and A549 cell lines, respectively. More interestingly, combination treatment with either extracts A or B and cisplatin, significantly boosted the cytotoxic effect of cisplatin against the two cancer cell lines. Further studies are recommended to determine the active components in both plants responsible for these activities and explore their interactions at molecular level.