Cytotoxic activity of selected Nigerian plants

Abstract

Cancer is one of the most prominent human diseases which has stimulated scientific and commercial interest in the discovery of new anticancer agents from natural sources. The current study investigates the cytotoxic activity of ethanolic extracts of sixteen Nigerian plants used locally for the treatment of cancer using the MTT assay on the HeLa cell line. Sapium ellipticum leaves showed activity comparable to the reference compound Cisplatin and greater cytotoxic activity than Combretum paniculatum, Celosia trigyna, Drymaria cordata, Cyathula achyranthoides and Cyathula prostata. Justica extensa, Pupalia lappacea, Hedranthera barteri leaves, Alternanthera sessilis, Ethulia conyzoides leaves, Combretum zenkeri root, Sapium ellipticum stembark and Lannea nigritana stembark showed very low activity while Combretum molle, Adenanthera parvoniana and Lannea acida showed no activity. The results justify the use of Sapium, Combretum, Celosia, Drymaria and Cyathula in traditional treatment of cancer.

<i>Drymaria cordata</i> (Linn.) Willd (Caryophyllaceae): Ethnobotany, Pharmacology and Phytochemistry

“…It was potentially cytotoxic showing over 50% activity at 500 µg/ml [13]. Moreover one anti leukemic compound (C 17 H 22 O 2 ) which is effective as inhibitory to primary cultures of human encomia cells has been isolated from this plant [4].…”

“…The identification of compounds 1-7 was proposed from their spectral data mainly 1D and 2D NMR techniques ( 1 H, 13 C, DEPT, COSY, HMBC, HMQC and NOESY) and by comparison with literature data as: [24], monogalactopyranosyldiacylglycerol (6) and digalactopyranosyldiacyglycerol (7) [25] [26] (Figure 1). …”

“…It appears to be a good soil binder [1]. The anti-inflammatory [9] [7] [10], antitussive [11], antibacterial [12], cytotoxic [13], anxiolytic [14] activity, analgesic, anti-nociceptive and antipyretic properties [15]- [17] of Drymaria cordata extract have been reported. Although several secondary metabolites have been reported from a closely related species, namely Drymaria diandra [18] [19] and in spite of the different folks and traditional uses of D. cordata coupled to its broad range of pharmacological activities, only preliminary phytochemical screenings indicating the presence of some chemical classes of compounds in this plant have been reported [4] [7] [20], and very few is known concerning its real chemical constituents.…”

Natural Product-Based Drug Discovery

“…Anticancer natural products identified since the 1960s have been reviewed [4,5], as have those developed after 2000 [3]. Digitalis is known to have antineoplastic activities [10], while the cytotoxicity of some Nigerian plants has justified their use in the treatment of some cancers [11]. Medicinal plants from the island of Socotra, in Yemen, have also been subjected to pharmacological testing [12], while osthole -a coumarin used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been recognized as a promising lead compound for anticancer drug discovery [13].…”

Pharmacognostic and free radical scavenging Evaluation of Cyathula prostata (Blume) L.

“…6 The plant has also been reported to demonstrate antibacterial activity 7 and cytotoxic activity against breast and cervical cancer. 8,9 The need for proper identification, standardization and quality control of its crude drugs becomes imperative with the paucity of information on the aspect of its standardization in literature. The aim of the present study was therefore to establish the pharmacognostic profile of the plant and analyze the plant for free radical scavenging activity.…”