Apricot kernel possesses in vitro cytotoxic effect against breast cancer cell lines

In the search for potential anticancer agents from fruits, the present research work was carried out to examine the in vitro cytotoxic potential of kernel part of Prunus armeniaca (apricot) against eight distinct human cancer cell lines from six different tissues: lung (A-549), colon (HCT-116), breast (MCF-7, MDAMB-231), pancreatic (MIAPaCa-2, Panc-1), prostrate (PC- 3) and CNS (N2A). Methanolic extract and subsequent fractions (n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol) were used as test material and anticancer activity was determined via SRB assay at 100g/mL. Results revealed that chloroform fraction of kernel suppressed the proliferation of human breast cancer cellline with growth inhibition of 89%. The fraction of kernel was then evaluated at lower concentrations of 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10g/mL. Further IC50 value was calculated and it was observed that the fraction showed IC5038.66. To conclude, kernel part of Prunus armeniaca possesses certain constituents with cytotoxic properties that can be used to develop anticancer agents especially for breast cancer therapy and to provide a great service to cancer patients.Further studies are required for the isolation of active ingredients from the kernel part.