Chemical compositions and antiproliferative effect of essential oil of asafoetida on MCF7 human breast cancer cell line and female wistar rats

Background: Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-associated mortality in women, and the incidence is on the rise worldwide. Asafoetida has shown a good anti-cancer activity against breast cancer in both in vivo and in vitro studies. Materials and Methods: For the evaluation of the cytotoxic effect of essential oil of asafoetida (EOA), MCF7 cells, a highly invasive variant of human breast cancer cell line, were exposed to different concentrations of EOA (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 μl/ml) over different periods (24, 48, and 72 h), followed by cell viability analysis using 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. For determining thein vivo toxicity of EOA, the oil was administered orally at doses of 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 μl/kg for 28 days in female Wistar rats. After completion of the experiment, hematological and serum biochemical parameters were evaluated and compared to the untreated group. Results: MTT assay results showed that EOA significantly decreased the viability of MCF7 cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, demonstrating a strong cytotoxic effect of EOA on breast cancer cells. In chronic toxicity study, the female Wistar rats showed no change in hematological and biochemical parameters at any of the administered dose. Conclusions: The cytotoxic effect of EOA on breast cancer cells, without general toxicity, makes it a promising compound as adjuvant therapy for breast cancer.