Effect of Chrysanthemum Flower Extract on Proliferation of Various Cancer Cell Lines

Dried flower of chrysanthemum, Shiranui himekiku, was extracted with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or ethanol to compare the growth suppressing effect on various cancer cell lines. Both extracts gave a peak at 330 nm and the peak was higher in PBS extract than in ethanol extract. When one tenth volume of the PBS extract with various dilutions was added to culture medium of rat liver carcinoma dRLh-84 cells and cultured for 4 days, cell number decrease was observed only in the presence of original extract. On the other hand, the addition of one thousands volume of ethanol extract did not affect the proliferation of the cells. Proliferation of rat normal liver RLN-10 cells was suppressed in the presence of undiluted PBS extract as well as dRLh-84 cells, but the decrease of cell number was not so marked. The PBS extract exerted a strong cytotoxic effect to human liver cancer HuH-7 and HepG2 cells, as well as human mammary cancer MCF-7 cells. On the other hand, it was not cytotoxic, in human lung cancer A549 cells and human leukemia K562 and HL-60 cells. These results suggest that the cytotoxic effect of chrysanthemum flower extract varies with the origin of cancers.