Cyclamen exerts cytotoxicity in solid tumor cell lines: a step toward new anticancer agents?

Cyclamen coum is a traditional medicinal plant in the Turkey. Its anticancer properties and whether cyclamen extract induces any cytotoxicity in solid cancer cell lines have not been thoroughly investigated previously. Therefore we examined cytotoxic effects on cervical cancer, HeLa, and non small cell lung cancer cell, H1299, lines. Cyclamen extract induced cellular death of both HeLa and H1299 cells in a dose dependent manner. We also analyzed the capacity of cyclamen extract to induce apoptosis by the TUNEL method. Here, we for the first time report that the extract of Cyclamen coum, an endemic plant for Turkey, can induce cytotoxicity via apoptosis in HeLa and H1299 cells. These results imply that cyclamen extract can be further analyzed to potentially find novel anticancer compounds.