Introduction: Sperm Viability Test is important in diagnosis and treatment of male infertility. The common test is E&N and HOST which they are based on membrane permeability and integrity. The aim of this study was to evaluate MTT Assay as a sperm viability test based on mitochondrial activity. Materials and methods: Washed sperm samples were co-incubated with MTT in different media and different times in order to obtain the best condition for carrying out MTT assay. Then coefficient of variation of MTT was obtained and sensitivity and specificity of each test were calculated. Then MTT and E&N and HOST were carried out on 57 samples from infertile patient referring into Isfahan Fertility and Infertility Center. Then correlation coefficient of these tests with each other and sperm motility were obtained using SPSS software statistical program.Results: Ham's F-10 + 15 mM Hepes + 10% HSA at pH=7.4 at 37° c for 2 hours were the best condition for carrying out Sperm MTT Viability Assay in order to obtain optimal results. MTT assay showed a good significant correlation with HOST and E&N and sperm motility. All the test had high sensitivity but the specificity of HOST was less than that of E&N and MTT.Conclusion: MTT assay appears to be a suitable sperm viability test with high sensitivity and specificity and low coefficient of variation. This test designed not only for differentiating but also selecting and sperating viable sperm from dead sperm. Therefore this test may have an application for intra-cytoplasmic immotile sperm injection which remains to be study.

Background & objectives: Cancer prevention and treatment by medicinal plants for a long was is one of the most challenging areas of research. Among them, some plants species could suppress or kill tumor cells via apoptosis or necrosis. One of these plants is Astragalus. The purpose of this study was investigating the anti-cancer effects of this plant.Material & method: The cancer cell lines obtained from Pasteur Institute of Iran. The cells were cultured in RPMI 1640. Then the cells have effected from the presence of various concentrations (0.156, 0.312, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 mg/ml) of Astragalus cystosus. After 72 hours the rate of cytotoxicity was determined by using MTT test. These statistical analyses carried out with a significant level of 0.05 and t-test with excel software.Findings: These findings indicate that the extract of Astragalus cystosus on Hela cancer cell lines had cytotoxicity in all concentrations and the highest inhibition was 7.5 and 10 mg/ml concentrations. The rate of inhibition in higher concentrations such as 10mg/m1 was equal to 28.98% which is the highest one.Conclusion: Regarding that the extract of Astragalus cystosus had cytotoxicity on hela cancer cells, further studies can be performed on animal model and clinical trial so that Astragalus used as an anticancer drug.

Background: Curcumin and quercetinare two natural substances with low side effects and has antioxidant activity, anti- diabetic and strong anti-cancer and other health benefits. The aim of this study was the evaluation of these two compounds as anti-cancer agents and their toxicity on murine 4T1 breast cancer cells by MTT method.Materials and methods: In this experimental study, after cells culturing in 96-well plate 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 micromolar concentrations of curcumin and quercetin were added to the cells and after incubation during 24 and 48 hours, cell viability were evaluated by MTT method. one way-Anova was used to analysis data. p<0.05 was considered as significant level.Results: The result of this study showed that IC50 at 24 hours for curcumin was 14.8±4 micromolar and for quercetin 21.7±0.7 micromolar per ml and for 48 hours for curcumin was 21±0.3 micromolar and for quercetin 18.2±0.45 micromolar.Conclusion: In this study we showed that cell survival were depended on curcumin and quercetin concentration and time of incubation. By increasing the concentration of solution, toxicity have increased and cell survival have decrease at 48 hours more than 24 hours.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of intestinal microbiota metabolites in colorectal cancer patients on HT29 cell line using MTT assay. Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors. Human guts harbor abundant microbes that adjust many aspects of the host physiology. Increasing studies suggest that gut microbiota play a significant role in the incidence and expansion of CRC, as a result of virulence factors, bacterial metabolites, or inflammatory pathways. methods: In this cross-sectional study, 60 biopsy samples including 30 cancerous and 30 adjacent healthy tissues were collected from patients with CRC during 2017. Biopsy samples were first cultured on Thioglycollate broth medium for 24hr after which the microbiota metabolites were filtered and stored at-20 C° for further evaluation. HT29 cells were treated by microbiota metabolites at different times (3, 6, 12, 18h) and its viability was assessed by MTT assay. Results: The cells treated with microbiota metabolites showed increased viability and proliferation in time-dependent analysis by MTT assay, but there was not significant differences between the two groups. Conclusion: It seems that microbial metabolites are able to induce proliferation and increase cell viability and thus induce colorectal cancer.

Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors, Human guts harbor abundant microbes that adjust many aspects of host physiology. Increasing studies show that gut microbiota plays a significant role in the incidence and expansion of CRC, as a result of virulence factors, bacterial metabolites, or inflammatory pathways. Materials and methods: In this study, viability of HT29 cells, treated by different time of microbiota metabolits (3, 6, 12, 18h), was assessed by MTT assay respectively. Results: Treated cells with microbiota metabolits showed increased viability and proliferation, in time-dependent analysis by MTT assay. Conclusion: Considering that microbial metabolits is able to induce proliferation and increase cell viability, it seems microbial metabolites imbalance or dysbiosis in the gut due to the dietary or environmental changes or lifestyle risk factors may cause colorectal cancer.

Background and objective: In addition to the use of chemicals in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and hygiene industries, use of herbal and natural compounds have also increased. It seems natural ingredients compared with the chemical components show less side effects, such as mutagenicity and carcinogenesis; however, their use can also be associated with side effects and toxicity. Some significant medicinal effects of saffron have been proven, which reveals the necessity to investigate the toxicity of the plant. This study aimed to evaluates the cytotoxic effects of saffron on cell lines Vero, Hela, and Hep2 using MTT assay method.Material and method: Firstly the stigma of saffron was extracted by methanol: water 80:20 using maceration method. Cytotoxic effects of different dilutions of saffron extract on Vero normal cell lines and Hela and Hep2 cancerous cell lines was investigated using MTT assay method in a 96 well microplate. Reading optical density (OD) was done by microplate reader apparatus and IC50 (Inhibition Concentration 50%) was calculated for each cell line. Results: Aqueous - methanolic saffron extract on cell lines Vero, Hela, and Hep2, showed IC50 equal 162,653 and 208 mg/ml respectively.Conclusion: Saffron has a toxic effect on normal Vero cell line. Therefore, must be cautious to not to use it in food and as herbal medicine in high concentrations. Also the extract of this plant revealed toxic effects on two cancerous cell lines, Hepa2 and Hela. However, its toxicity, especially on Hela cancerous cell line was lower than the Vero normal cell line.

Background: Given the many side effects of routine cancer treatments, the use of herbs in cancer treatment may help reduce the side effects of treatments and improve patients’,lives. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the anticancer effect of nasturtium officinale on the oral cancer cell line. Materials and methods: In this experimental study, the toxicity effect of the extract on normal and cancer cell lines at different concentrations and times was investigated using the Methylthiazol Tetrazolium assay method. Finally, the data were compared, and random effect one-way ANOVA was applied to evaluate them. Results: The extract showed anti-cancer effect, which was significant (P=0. 00) at different times and in concentrations of ≥, 0. 5 mg/ml. The IC50 index for cancer cells was 3. 52 at 24 hours and 4. 36 at 48 hours. This means that with increasing exposure time, higher concentrations of the extract are needed to inhibit the viability of cancer cells. Also, hydroalcoholic extract had a destructive effect on healthy cells in 24 hours at concentrations of 4 and 8 mg/ml (P≤, 0. 05). Examination of concentrations in the range of 0. 5 to 2 showed that the best and most ideal concentration with anti-cancer effect was 2 mg/ml because in this concentration 55. 5% of cancer cells and only 0. 1% of healthy cells were killed. Conclusion: The hydroalcoholic extract of the plant had an anti-cancer effect on the oral cancer cell line. An effect that was inversely related to time and directly related to the concentration of the extract.