Satureja hortensisL. Methanolic Extract and Essential Oil Exhibit Antitumor Activity

Many members of the genus Satureja have aromatic and medicinal characteristics. Satureja hortensis L. (Lamiaceae) is an Iranian species of Satureja which is well known in Iranian traditional medicine as a remedy for various ailments. In this study, antitumor activity of the essential oil and methanolic extract of S. hortensis was investigated. For antitumor activity tests, a potato disc tumor inhibition method was exploited. Antimicrobial activity of the essential oil and methanolic extract was also studied by a broth microdilution method and MIC values were determined. The methanolic extract exhibited antitumor activity in a concentration dependent manner but the tumor inhibitory effect was significant (> 20 %) at 1 mg/ml and higher. The IC value of the extract was 1.8 mg/ml. The essential oil exhibited tumor growth inhibition (100 %) at dilutions of 0.001 and 0.0001 (v/v). These results demonstrated that S. hortensis has beneficial effects by inhibition of tumor growth on potato discs, which is ...