title: Studies of the anticancer potential of plants used in Bangladeshi folk medicine.
abstract: The present study evaluated the anticancer potential of 11 plants used in Bangladeshi folk medicine. The extracts were tested for cytotoxicity using the brine shrimp lethality assay, sea urchin eggs assay, hemolysis assay and MTT assay using tumor cell lines. The extract of Oroxylum indicum showed the highest toxicity on all tumor cell lines tested, with an IC(50) of 19.6 microg/ml for CEM, 14.2 microg/ml for HL-60, 17.2 microg/ml for B-16 and 32.5 microg/ml for HCT-8. On the sea urchin eggs, it inhibited the progression of cell cycle since the frist cleavage (IC(50)=13.5 microg/ml). The extract of Aegle marmelos exhibited toxicity on all used assays, but in a lower potency than Oroxylum indicum. In conclusion, among all tested extracts, only the extracts of Oroxylum indicum, Moringa oleifera and Aegles marmelos could be considered as potential sources of anticancer compounds. Further studies are necessary for chemical characterization of the active principles and more extensive biological evaluations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza Rua Cel Nunes de Melo 1127, Caixa Postal-3157, 60430-270 Fortaleza Ce, Brazil. lvcosta@secrel.com.br
authors.forename: Letícia Veras
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Costa-Lotufo
authors.forename: Mahmud Tareq Hassan
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Arjumand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ather
authors.forename: Diego Veras
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Wilke
authors.forename: Paula Christine
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Jimenez
authors.forename: Cláudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pessoa
authors.forename: Maria Elisabete Amaral
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: de Moraes
authors.forename: Manoel Odorico
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: de Moraes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001156:Artemia; D001459:Bangladesh; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D051379:Mice; D010063:Ovum / Q000187:drug effects; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000737:chemistry; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D012617:Sea Urchins; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D010936:Plant Extracts; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; C022616:thiazolyl blue