HUMAN BREAST TUMOUR CELLS VIABILITY EFFECT OF AFRICAN DIOSCOREA ROTUNDATA TUBER EXTRACTS IN MCF-7 AND MDA-MB231 CELL LINES.

Objective: We aim to test the efficacy of edible Dioscorea species grown and consumed in Nigeria, Africa on two breast cancer cell lines; MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 derived from a luminal and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) respectively and to confirm safety in non-tumour cells MCF-10A using a well established cytotoxic compound paclitaxel as a standard. Metastatic breast cancer is a prevalent cause of mortality in women around the world. Breast cancer therapies have greatly advanced in recent years, but many patients develop cancer re-occurrence and metastasis and subsequently yield to the disease because of chemoresistance. Methods: Ethanolic extracts of Dioscorea rotundata boiled and raw (DiosB and DiosR) respectively were chemically analysed for the presence of diosgenin using HPLC and the cytotoxic activity of the extracts were tested on MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-10A cells In vitro by MTT assay. Results: DiosB and DiosR extracts showed a higher maximal effect on MCF-7 cells than on MDA-MB231 after 24 h and 48 h treatments (p