Chemically characterized extract of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Liquorice) exhibits cytotoxicity and induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells
1Department of Pharmacy, Al-Manara University, Amarah, Iraq. 2Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tishk International University, Erbil 44001, Iraq. Corresponding e-mail:jas.hamdard@gmail.com, javed.ahamad@tiu.edu.iq
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2025.v27i04.132
Given the growing interest in plant-derived bioactives for cancer therapy, this study evaluates the cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic activity of the ethyl acetate fraction of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. against MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The ethyl acetate fraction of Glycyrrhiza was chemically characterized by GC-MS, cell cytotoxicity was determined by the MTT assay, and apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry. The GC-MS analysis of the ethyl acetate fraction of G. glabra resulted in the identification of 53 chemical compounds and hexadecane (13.43%), cyclohexene oxide (7.82%), 3,7-dimethyldecane (7.69%), 1,2-hydroxyphenyl-ethanone (6.80%), and isospathulenol (3.96%) were found as major constituents. Glycyrrhiza ethyl acetate fraction produced a dose-dependent inhibition of cell viability with an IC50 value of 92.07 ?g/mL against MCF-7 cells of breast cancer. Glycyrrhiza ethyl acetate fraction also significantly induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. The current study explores the chemical composition of Glycyrrhiza ethyl acetate fraction and shows promising anticancer effects in breast cancer.
