Study of the Effect of Silymarin on Viability of Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer and results in 14% of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. The aim of this study is to investigate the anticancer effects of Silymarin on two breast cancer cell lines (BT-474, SK-BR-3). Methods and Material: Two breast cancer cell lines—SK-BR-3 and BT-474—were incubated for 24 hours in standard conditions before adding 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 μM Silymarin to each well. Alamar blue was then added to the wells after 24, 48 and 72 hours of incubation and cell viability was determined using fluorescence reader to detect the optical density. Results were analyzed using generalized estimating equations (GEE) method in STATA 12.0. Results: we demonstrated the Silybum marianum inhibition of two-cell lines SK-BR-3 and BT-474 growth at different concentrations after 24, 48 and 72 hours. Silymarin increased cell death in both cell lines. Conclusion: Silymarin can be combined with other anti-neoplastic agents to obtain better results.