Investigation of the anticancer and antimicrobial properties of the endemic Hypericum salsolifolium plant

In this thesis study, the anticancer, antimicrobial and anti-quourum sensing activities of ethyl acetate, methanol and water extracts obtained from the aerial parts of the Hypericum salsolifolium plant were examined. The extracts were evaluated for their anticancer activity using the MTT assay on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cell lines. The most effective results were observed in the MDA-MB-231 cell line in ethyl acetate extract, and the IC50 value was calculated as 270 µg/mL at the end of the 48-hour period. In the MCF-7 cell line, the lowest IC50 value was observed in ethyl acetate extract after 24 hours and was calculated as 192.1 µg/mL. Antimicrobial activity was investigated on 3 Gram (+), 6 Gram (-) bacteria and a yeast by agar well diffusion method. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values of extracts with activity were determined. According to the agar well diffusion results, the highest zone diameter was measured in Bacillus subtilis (11mm) and Staphylococcus aureus (8mm) strains. To assess the anti-quorum sensing properties of the extracts, their ability to inhibit violacein pigment production in Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus strains was examined. The extracts did not have an inhibitory effect on violaceum pigment production. The extract that most inhibited biofilm formation was ethyl acetate extract with a rate of 81.5%. Ethyl acetate and methanol extracts are thought to have a potential for the development of new anticancer agents. Additionally, testing the effectiveness of the extracts on different cancer cell lines is important for future studies. Ethyl acetate extract, which most inhibits biofilm formation in S. aureus strain, can be used as an anti-biofilm agent in future studies.