Introduction : Allium plants are an important part of the diet of many populations and there is a long-held belief in their health-enhancing properties such as cancer prevention. In this study, the anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities of the aqueous extract of the Allium ascalonicum bulbs have been studied.
Material and methods : The antiproliferative and anti-growth activity of the aqueous extract of A. ascalonicum was examined in vitro on different tumor cell lines. Furthermore, the acetic acid-induced vascular permeability as an in vivo assay was used for studying anti-inflammatory activity of the extract.
Results : The aqueous extract of A. ascalonicum had the most anti-growth activity on the cancer cell lines; Jurkat and K562 against Wehi 164 with lower cytotoxic preference. The extract also showed much less cytotoxicity against the normal cell (HUVEC) line and significant anti-inflammatory activity in vivo.
Conclusions : It is of interest that the extract of this plant has shown much less cytotoxicity against the normal cell line, and, if this also occurs in vivo, the use of this plant clinically for the treatment of cancer patients would have some scientific support. The results of these assays indicated that A. ascalonicum can be a candidate for prevention and treatment of many diseases related to inflammation and malignancy.