Antiproliferative activities of some selected Nigerian medicinal plants towards human breast, liver and cervical cancers

Due to their biological activity and structural diversity, natural products have historically been an important source of novel anticancer medicines, facilitating the development of chemical entities with established safety and efficacy. This study is aimed at investigating the anticancer activity of some selected Nigerian medicinal plants used in cancer treatment with a view to isolate bioactive compounds with cytotoxic potential. Ethanol extracts of Dialium guineese root (DGR), Dialium guineese leaves (DGL), Jateorhiza macrantha leaves (JML), Musanga cecropiodes leaves (MCL), Musanga cecropiodes stembark (MCSB), Piptadeniastrum africanum stembark (PASB), Piptadeniastrum africanum root (PAR), Pupalia lappacea flower tops (PLF), Raphiostylis beninensis root (RBR) and Raphiostylis beninensis (RBL) were selected being the most frequently used ethnomedicinally in tumour related problems.

The extract of PASB had the highest cytotoxicity (LC₅₀=1.58 µg/mL) on the brine shrimps compared to vincristine sulphate (LC₅₀=2.24 µg/mL). In the cell viability assay, all the extracts produced a significant (p<0.05) growth inhibitory effect against all cell lines tested in a dose dependent manner. All extracts were selective to cancer cells at varying degrees. Worthy of mentioning are the extracts of MCL, DGR, RBR and PASB, which exhibited 14-, 7-, 6- and 2-fold selectivity toward MCF-7 cancer cells relative to normal lung fibroblasts (MRC-5), respectively. These four extracts also significantly inhibited cell migration and colony formation in MCF-7 treated cells in a dose-dependent manner. These findings advocate continued development of MCL, DGR, RBR and PASB as potential chemotherapeutic agents.

 

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
16. November 2023