Background: A major challenge involved in breast cancer management is the therapeutic agents. Herbal medicine tries to find the therapeutic agent for this type of cancer from nature. Cuscuta epithymum, as a member of the Convolvulaceae family, has demonstrated that different extracts of this medical plant have antibacterial and antitumor effects in different types of cancer. The aim of this study is to illustrate the effect of different alcoholic extract of Cuscuta epithymum on breast cancer cells. Methods: The cytotoxic assay was performed on human and mouse triple-negative cell lines by MTT assay. The type of cell death was investigated by annexinV/PI method via flow cytometry analyzer. The Caspase-3 and -9 and Bcl-2 mRNA expression level were assessed by qRT-PCR. The cell migration was performed by scratch wound healing assay. Results: The MTT assay showed that methanol, dichloromethane, and N-hexane extracts of Cuscuta epithymum inhibited breast cancer cell growth by inducing cell toxicity. Following the results of the apoptosis assay showed that dichloromethane extract induced apoptosis more significantly than two others. The molecular analysis showed that this extract induced Caspase-3 and -9 mRNA expressions and reduced the Bcl-2 mRNA expression. The results of the migration assay also showed that it could suppress the mobility feature of invasive triple-negative breast cancer cells. Conclusion: The present study verified that the dichloromethane extract of Cuscuta epithymum could inhibit triple-negative breast cancer cells growth via inducing apoptosis through the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. The results encourage us to extend the use of this extract in animal and clinical experiments.
