RESUMO
Biological activities of Zingiber afflicieale plants have been reported as possessing anticancer, antibacterial, anti ulcer, antifungal, and insecticidal properties. However, its antitumor effects haven't been studied in cancer cell lines. The aim of this study was to investigate the antitumor effect of zingiber afficieale on breast cancer cell lines. This experimental study was conducted in 2010 at Mashhad University of medical Sciences. Breast cancer cell line [MCF7] and normal connective tissue cell line [L929] were cultured in DMEM medium. Ethanolic extract of Zingiber afficinale was prepared and cell lines were treated with different concentration of extract [5000 to 78 micro g]. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay after 24, 48, and 72 hours. The collected data were statistically analyzed by SPSS software. The effects of Zingiber afficinale on cell viability were observed after 48 hours on cell lines. Ginger doses in 2500 micro g concentration inhibited 50% of cell growth [IC50] in cell lines after 48 hours. Our study revealed that fresh ginger extract has cytotoxic effects on tumor cells, but it doesn't have any cytotoxic effect on normal cells. It seems that ginger could be considered as a promising chemotherapeutic agent in cancer treatment