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Context: Phytochemicals are produced by desert plants to protect themselves against stressful environments. They have been shown to be useful in preventing and fighting adverse pathophysiological conditions and complex diseases, including cancer. Although many desert plants have been investigated for their antitumor properties, a large number of them still remain to be explored for possible therapeutic applications in oncologic diseases.

Objective: To screen the antitumor effects of selected desert plants, namely Achillea fragrantissima (Forssk.) Sch. Bip. (Compositae), Ochradenus baccatus Delile (Resedaceae), Origanum dayi Post (Lamiaceae), Phlomis platystegia Post (Lamiaceae) and Varthemia iphionoides Boiss (Compositae), against an in vitro tumor model utilizing HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Materials and methods: The aqueous extracts of aerial parts of the aforementioned plants were prepared and used for the in vitro experiments. The HepG2 cells were exposed to varying concentrations (0-4 mg/mL) of each plant extract for 24 or 48 h and the cytotoxicity was measured by the MU assay.

Results: Following 24 h exposure, O. dayi extract exhibited a substantial antiproliferative effect in HepG2 cells (IC50=1.0 mg/mL) followed by O. baccatus (IC50=1.5 mg/mL). All plant extracts displayed cytotoxicity following 48 h exposure. Nevertheless, a substantial effect was observed with O. dayi (IC50=0.35 mg/mL) or O. baccatus (IC50=0.83 mg/mL).

Conclusion: The aqueous extracts from aerial parts of O. dayi and O. baccatus possess antitumor effects against human liver cancer cells. These desert plants represent valuable resources for the development of potential anticancer agents.