Investigation of the antibacterial and anticarcinogenic effects of Inula viscosa methanol and hexane extracts

Abstract

Objective: Inula viscosa is a perennial medicinal plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. This study aimed at investigating the antibacterial and anticarcinogenic activities of methanol and hexane extracts derived from I. viscosa. Methods: The antibacterial activity of different concentrations of I. viscosa methanol (1.56-800 mg/ml) and hexane (0.19-100 mg/ml) extracts was tested using the disc diffusion method. Listeria monocytogenes, Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were used as standard reference strains. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the extracts were made for each bacteria using the microdilution method. MIC value was determined as the lowest extract concentration at which growth was not observed. Minimum bactericide concentrations (MBC) were determined for all wells after MIC. The anticarcinogenic activity of I. viscosa was examined using the MTT test. MDA-MB-231 and HT-29 cells were stained with acridine orange and propidium iodide at the IC50 values of the extracts to determine the viable, apoptotic and necrotic cells. Results: Zone diameters of the methanol extract for L. monocytogenes, M. luteus, E. coli and K. pneumoniae were 8, 16, 7 and 9 mm, respectively. Zone diameters of the hexane extract for M. luteus, E. coli and K. pneumoniae were 14, 7 and 9 mm, respectively. MIC values of the methanol extract were 25 mg/ml for M. luteus, 200 mg/ml for L. monocytogenes and K. pneumoniae, and 400 mg/ml for E. coli. MIC values of the hexane extract were 400 mg/ml for L. monocytogenes, E. coli ve K. pneumoniae, and 100 mg/ml for M. luteus. MBC values were similar to MIC values. IC50 values for MDA-MB-231 and HT-29 cells were 25 mg/ml and 200 mg/ ml for the methanol extract, and 6.25 mg/ml and 12.5 mg/ml for the hexane extract, respectively. Depending on increased concentration levels, the presence of necrotic and early apoptotic cells was observed among MDA-MB-231 and HT-29 cells. Conclusion: Methanol and hexane extracts of I. viscosa were found to have antibacterial effects on the studied bacteria and anticarcinogenic activity on MDA-MB-231 and HT-29 cells. Conducting further studies to demonstrate the effects of these extracts on different cancer cell lines and bacterial strains will contribute to the field of complementary medicine. © 2022. All Rights Reserved.