Background: Teucrium persicum is an indigenous Iranian plant that grows in southern regions of Iran and it used in Iranian folk medicine medicine to treat various human ailments, including abdominal pains, hyperlipidemia, inflammatory disorders and diabetes.
Methods: Due to its historical medicinal significance and bioactive potential, this research were designed to focus on phytochemical profiling and exploring the effects of chloroform extract of T. persicum on PC-3 prostate cancer cells, by using MTT, DAPI staining, and gene expression analysis of Cyclin D1, BAX, and BCL2 was carried out using real-time PCR.
Results: MTT results showed that the extract induced considerable cytotoxic effects on PC-3 cells, an IC₅₀ value around 100 µg/mL after 48 hours was calculated. Observations from DAPI-labeled cells revealed that the treating cells with the extract caused noticeable morphological modifications characterized by condensed chromatin and fragmented nuclei. Moreover, the chloroform extract of T. persicum induced apoptosis through overexpression of BAX, and suppression of BCL-2 and Cyclin D1 genes that are key genes that regulate cell proliferation and death. Wound healing assays showed a marked reduction in cell motility following subjected to the chloroform extract of T. persicum, in a dose-dependent manner. Phytochemical analysis of the chloroform extract of T. persicum revealed the presence of 46 chemical compounds. Eicosane, δ-Amorphene, 2-Hexen-4-yn-1-ol, Nerolidol, Chondrillasterol, delta-Cadinene, α-Cadinol, and α-Copaene were the most abundant components of the chloroform extract.
Conclusion: These findings indicate that T. persicum extract likely contains powerful compounds that reinforce its potential anticancer properties. However, in-depth molecular studies are essential to uncover the mechanisms driving these effects.