¹Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Duzce University, Duzce, Turkey
²Bezmialem University, Biostatistics Department, Istanbul, Turkey DOI : 10.29228/jrp.444 Cancer is an important health problem and responsible for a significant number of deaths worldwide. Chemotherapy resistance and related side effects prevent cancer treatment from reaching the desired level. In this study, we aimed to investigate the anti-cancer properties of Carthamus tinctorius, Salvia hispanica and Linum usitatissimum seed oils on hepatocellular (HepG2), colorectal (HCT-116) and gastric carcinoma (AGS) cell lines. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were used as control cell group. Cell viability of HepG2, HCT-116, AGS and HUVECs was determined by MTT method after treatment with various concentrations of Carthamus tinctorius, Salvia hispanica and Linum usitatissimum. Colorimetric elisa kit was used for quantitative determination of caspase-3 activation. Antimigratory effect of Carthamus tinctorius and Salvia hispanica were investigated by wound healing assay. Carthamus tinctorius, Salvia hispanica and Linum usitatissimum seed oils significantly inhibited the proliferation of cancer cells. There was an insignificant decrease in the viability of HUVEC cells after seed oils treatments. Migration of HepG2 and AGS cells significantly suppressed by treatment of Salvia hispanica and Carthamus tinctorius respectively. Salvia hispanica and Carthamus tinctorius significantly increased caspase-3 activation in cancer cells. Our results showed that Carthamus tinctorius, Salvia hispanica and Linum usitatissimum exhibited a selective cytotoxicity against HepG2, HCT-116 and AGS cells without damaging normal cells. Keywords : Carthamus tinctorius; Salvia hispanica; Linum usitatissimum; anticancer; migration; caspase-3