EFFECT OF CRUDE EXTRACTS OF DATE PITS (PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA L. CV. ZAHDI) ON SOME CANCER CELL LINES IN VITRO AND THEIR EFFECT ON HUMAN LYMPHOCYTES AND TREATMENT OF TRANSPLANTED MAMMARY ADENOCARCINOMA IN MICE

Abstract

The present investigation represents a preliminary study of the effect of crude extracts (aqueous, ethanolic and hexanic) of date pits (Phoenix dactylifera L. cv. Zahdi) on two malignant cell lines (human laryngeal carcinoma-Hep2 and murine mammary adenocarcinoma-AMN3) and one normal cell line (rat embryo fibroblast-REF). The study also includes evaluation of the effect of these extracts on several cytogenetic parameters such as mitotic index (MI%), blast index (BI%) and chromosomal aberrations (CA) after in vitro culture of peripheral blood lymphocytes. This work also includes a study of the therapeutic potential of one of these extracts in the treatment of transplanted murine mammary adenocarcinoma in mice.The in vitro cell growth assay showed that there was time- and concentration-dependent cytotoxic effects of crude extracts of date pits on Hep2 and AMN3 cell lines. The highest significant effect of these extracts was achieved after 72 hrs of exposure with the highest concentration (10000 μg/ml). Ethanolic extract of pits (EP) caused growth inhibition percentage 89.4% , 93.4% for Hep2 and AMN3 respectively. However, 72 hrs exposure to EP at concentration of 10000 μg/ml caused slight inhibitory effect on REF cell line, reaching 17.7%.On the other hand, the crude extracts of pits caused significant reduction in the mitotic index and blast index of peripheral human lymphocytes, but without any structural or numerical chromosomal aberrations. Also these extracts neither replaced phytohemagglutinin (PHA) as mitogenic agent, nor colcemide as mitotic arresting agent at metaphase.The therapeutic doses of EP were determined according to LD50 in mice. The results indicated high effectiveness of this extract in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The highest therapeutic doses of EP (1 gm/kg B.wt.) showed the best therapeutic effect by reducing the tumor volume in mice to about 83.8%.The comparison of relative tumor volumes of different groups revealed highly significant differences among all treated groups and those of untreated (control) group.