<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">In vitro</i> cytotoxic activity of leaves extracts of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Holarrhena antidysenterica </i>against some human cancer cell lines

Abstract

<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">In vitro</i> cytotoxic potential of extracts (95% and 50% ethanolic extract and hot water extract at concentration of 100 µg/ml) from leaves of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Holarrhena antidysenterica</i> was evaluated against fourteen human cancer cell lines — A-549, COLO-205, DU-145, HeLa, HEP-2, IMR-32, KB, MCF-7, NCI-H23, OVCAR-5, SiHa, SK-N-MC, SW-620 and ZR-75-1 from nine different tissues (breast, colon, cervix, CNS, lung, liver, oral, ovary and prostate) using SRB assay. The 95% ethanolic extract displayed maximumanti-proliferativeeffect in the range of 73-92% against eight human cancer cell lines, while 50% ethanolic extract showed cytotoxic activity in the range of 70-94% against seven human cancer cell lines. However, the hot water extract did not show any activity. Among the fractions of 95% and 50% ethanolic extract, significant cytotoxic activity was found in the chloroform soluble fraction of 95% ethanolic extract at 100 µg/ml; it inhibited the growth in the range of 71-99% of seven human cancer cell lines from five different tissues <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">viz.,</i> OVCAR-5 (ovary), HT-29 (colon), SK-N-MC (neuroblastoma), HEP-2 (liver), COLO-205 (colon), NIH-OVCAR-3 (ovary) and A-549 (lung). The cytotoxic activity of chloroform soluble fraction was found to be higher than 5-flurouracil, adriamycin, mitomycin-c and paclitaxel (anticancer drugs used as positive controls). Further <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">in vivo</i> studies and identification of active components from the chloroform fraction and their exact mechanism of action could be useful in designing new anticancer therapeutic agents.