Abstract
In the present study, investigations were carried out to screen the anticancer activities of fenugreek seed oil against cancer cell lines (HEp-2, MCF-7, WISH cells), and a normal cell line (Vero cells). Cytotoxicity was assessed with MTT and NRU assays, and cellular morphological alterations were studied using phase contrast light microscopy. All cells were exposed toi 10-1000 mu g/ml of fenugreek seed oil for 24 h. The results show that fenugreek seed oil significantly reduced the cell viability, and altered the cellular morphology in a dose dependent manner. Among the cell lines, HEp-2 cells showed the highest decrease in cell viability, followed by MCF-7, WISH, and Vero cells by MTT and NRU assays. Cell viability at 1000 mu g/ml was recorded as 55% in HEp-2 cells, 67% in MCF-7 cells, 75% in WISH cells, and 86% in Vero cells. The present study provides preliminary screening data for fenugreek seed oil pointing to potent cytotoxicity against cancer cells.