Iron Chelating and Antioxidant Activities and Cytotoxicity Effect of the Pistachio (Pistachio vera L.) hull and kernel Extracts in the A549, HT29 and MCF-7 Cancerous Cell lines

Synthetic iron-chelators have been considered for treatment of some clinical situations such as iron overloading and cancer. However, their side effects and incomplete effectiveness limit their usages. Natural products could be a source of safe and novel metal chelating agents. The aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxicity effect, iron chelatory and antioxidant activities of different parts of pistachio (Pistachio vera L.). The iron chelatory effects and Total phenolic content of hull and kernel of pistachio extracts were determined by Ferrozine reagent and Folin Ciocalteu method, respectively. Antioxidant activities were measured by DPPH and FRAP assays. The cytotoxicity of the extracts and deferiprone (synthetic Fe-chelator) were evaluated in the A-549 lung and HT-29 colon and MCF-7 breast cancerous cell lines using MTT cytotoxicity assay. The extracts show potential of iron chelation and antioxidant activity. The cytotoxicity potency of extracts and deferiprone are rated as follows: MCF-7 > A549 > HT-29. The MCF-7 cell lines have the most sensitivity to the cytotoxicity of samples. Our results show that Pistachio hull and kernel are containing cytotoxic compounds for lung (A549 cancer cell line), colon (HT-29 cancer cell line) and breast (MCF-7 cancer cell line). Also, pistachio may be a great natural source for iron chelating, anti-cancer and antioxidant agents in some applications including food and medicinal.