Cytotoxic Activity of Cytoplasmic Extract and Medium Culture of Nodular-ia harveyana on Melanoma Cell Line

Cyanobacteria produce a wide range of biologically active compounds. Among the cyanobacterial metabolites, cytotoxins are of particular interest because of their poten-tial to kill target cancer cells. The present study was undertaken to isolate Nodular-ia harveyana from Ardakan County (Yazd Province, Iran) soil and determine the cy-totoxic effect of cytoplasmic extraction and medium culture of its on the human melano-ma cell line. Nitrate-free BG11 medium was used for preparing an axenic monoalgal cul-ture of Nodularia harveyana ISB112. In ad-dition, 3- to 5-week-old cytoplasmic extract and medium used for the cytotoxic study on human melanoma cell lines (B16). The cytotoxic effects of cytoplasmic extraction, and medium culture at the concentration ranging from 5 to 50 μg ml-1 increased sig- nificantly in a concentration-dependent manner (p<0.05). The 4- and 5-week-old cytoplasmic extract of Nodularia harveyana ISB112 was more effective than the 3-week-old extract and the viability percent of cells were 52.57% and 52.35%, respectively. The results showed that the medium culture ac-tivity in the fifth-week of growth was high-er than other periods and the cell's viability percent was 48.84% (p ≤ 0.05). Overall, the results suggested that Nodularia harveyana ISB112 can kill tumor cells that can be used as a treatment for cancer disease.