Real-Time Antiproliferative Activity of Carthamus tinctorius L. (Safflower) Against PC3 and C6 Cell Lines: A Correlative Chemical Profile Assessment.

In this study, Carthamus tinctorius was separated into distinct parts (flower [F], stem-leaf [SL], and root [R]) and subjected to two different extraction protocols (water-ethyl acetate [WEA] and methanol-chloroform [MC]). The chemical profiles of the extracts were comprehensively characterized using HPLC-TOF/MS. Analytical results identified p-coumaric acid as the predominant compound in the WEA, whereas syringic acid was found to be the major constituent in the MC extracts. The antiproliferative activities of the extracts were assessed in the xCELLigence real-time cell analysis (RTCA) SP system on human prostate cancer (PC3) and rat glioma (C6) cell lines. RWEA showed the strongest antiproliferative activity against PC3 cells (IC50 = 21.044 µg/mL), whereas SLWEA was most effective on C6 cells (IC50 = 12.759 µg/mL). This study offers novel and significant insights into the bioactive constituents of C. tinctorius by presenting, for the first time in real-time analyses, compelling evidence of its potent antiproliferative activity against PC3 and C6 cell lines.