Leaf Hexane Extracts of Two Turkish Fig (Ficus carica L.) Cultivars Show Cytotoxic Effects on a Human Prostate Cancer Cell Line

The world-famous Turkish fig, grown in Aydin, is also used for the treatment of various diseases with its leaves and latex. Studies have shown that fig leaf has antioxidant, antiviral, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and anticancer effects. The objective of the study is to examine the anticarcinogenic and antimicrobial effects of nonpolar extracts from the leaves of two fig cultivars (Sari Lop and Aydin Black) that are the most widely grown in Aydin. The fig leaves collected in the summer of 2017 were dried in shade at room temperature and crumbled. The n-hexane extracts of the dried fig leaves obtained with manual soxhlet and semi-automated soxhlet apparatus were applied on PC3 human prostate cancer cell line for 24h. The antimicrobial activities of the extracts were examined on Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus using disc and agar well diffusion methods. As a result, antimicrobial activity of the n-hexane extracts on the bacteria was not detected at the highest dose tested (100 mg/ml). The n-hexane extracts showed cytotoxic effect on PC3 cells in a dose-dependent fashion and caused close to 100% death at 1000 μg/ml. No significant difference was observed between the cytotoxic effects of n-hexane extracts of two fig cultivars and the extraction methods (P>0.05).