Fig. 1

Effects of flavone, apigenin and luteolin on cell viability of MCF-7, Hs578T and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. a MCF-7, b Hs578T, and c MDA-MB-231 cells were cultured in 96-well plates and treated with varying concentration of flavone, apigenin and luteolin (12.5–100 μM) for 72 h as indicated. Cell viability was assessed with a MTS/PMS ((3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium, inner salt)/phenazine methosulfate) assay. d Effects of treatment with IC₅₀ concentrations (Table 1) of flavone, apigenin, and luteolin on for 21 d on colony formation in MCF-7 cells. e Quantification of colony numbers from colony-forming assays of untereated MCF-7 cells (control) and cells treated with flavone, apigenin, and luteolin. Results are the mean ± standard deviation of three independent experiments. P < 0.05 is considered as statistically significant. Symbols: *: P < 0.05; #: P < 0.01; ★: P < 0.001