Abstract

Cancer, heart failure and stroke are among the majority frequent causes of death worldwide. Cancer is the second most common reason of death following the cardiovascular diseases. In current  study, two Iranian species of Achillea species as Achillea millefolium and Achillea biebersteinii have been collected from East Azerbaijan of Iran and assayed on six cancerous cell lines; AGS human Caucasian gastric adenocarcinoma, MCF7 human breast ductal carcinoma, SW742 human colorectal adenocarcinoma, SKLC6 human lung carcinoma, A375 human melanoma cancer cell and PLC/PRF/5 human liver hepatoma. Complementary assays were also carried out to verify selectivity of herbal extracts. Reduced hemolytic potential of herbal extracts plus antifungal test findings in comparison with their cytotoxicity effects on several cancerous cells, may present selectivity effects of them in inducing of cytotoxicity on humancancerous cells.

Key words: Achillea millefolium, Achillea biebersteinii, anticancer, cancerous cell lines.