Study the Effect of Ferula hermonis Extract on HepG2 cell line culture

Abstract

Ferula hermonis Boiss (Apiaceae) is known in the Midleast as
"zallouh". In the last decade, scientists paid attention to study
 
chemistry and biological activity of the plant. In this study Ferula
hermonis were collected and evaluated for cytotoxic activity. The
plant was extracted with methanol The cytotoxic effect of the
extracts was examined in-vitro on human cell line (Human liver
carcinoma cell line HepG2). Results were shown that significant
decrease of HepG2 cells viability. The effect of F. hermonis on cell
viability of HepG2 cell line culture show that plant extract cause
significant decrease ( p< 0.05) of HepG2 cell viability, and this
decrease in cell viability is increased with the increasing the extract
concentrations in comparison with the negative control, and the
growth inhibition percentage reach to (78.3%).
Introduction
 
Ferula hermonis Boiss. (Apiaceae), commonly known as " Shilsh-
el-zallouh" , "Hashishat-al-kattira" or "The Lebanese Viagra" ,is a
small perennial shrub that grows abundantly at more than 2500 m on
the high mountain areas of northern Lebanon, and on the biblical
Mount Hermon in Southern Lebanon, (El-Taher et al., 2001). Middle
East herbalists have used the seeds and roots of this plant for
centuries as a folk remedy as an aphrodisiac to treat frigidity in
women, and erectile and sexual dysfunction in men by increasing
blood flow to sexual organs. The antimicrobial activity of the crude
extract and the isolated compounds has been reported (Hilan et al.,
2007). Previous phytochemical studies on this plant have revealed
the presence of various sesquiterpenes, mainly of the daucane ester
type (Galal et al., 2001). On roots of Ferula hermonis, several
sesquiterpenes have been isolated, most of which display biological
activities. The active constituents are believed to be daucane alcohols