Planta Med 2008; 74 - PF16
DOI: 10.1055/s-0028-1084744

Investigations into the cytotoxic effects of Bangladeshi medicinal plants

SJ Uddin 1, D Grice 2, E Tiralongo 1
  • 1School of Pharmacy, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland 4222, Australia
  • 2Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland 4222, Australia

Natural products and related drugs are used to treat 87% of all categorised human diseases including bacterial infection, cancer and immunological disorders [1]. Twenty five per cent of prescribed drugs worldwide originate from plants and over 3000 species of plants have been reported to have anti-cancer properties [2]. Currently about 250 medicinal plants are used in the preparation of traditional herbal medicines in Bangladesh. Most of these preparations have not yet undergone chemical, pharmacological and toxicological studies to determine the bioactive component(s) [3]. Fifteen Bangladeshi medicinal plants were selected based on their traditional use and reported activities, including anti-cancer, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. The air dried plant material was successively extracted with n-hexane, dichloromethane, methanol and water. The methanol and water extracts were assayed for cytotoxic activity in normal mouse fibroblast cells (NIH3T3), gastric adenocarcinoma cells (AGS), colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (HT-29) and breast carcinoma cells (MDA-MB-435S) using a validated MTT assay with 25% DMSO as a positive control [4]. Several extracts showed selective cytotoxicity, representing interesting candidates for further investigations. For example, the methanol extracts of Hygrophila auriculata and Clerodendron inerme showed no cytotoxic effects on healthy cells, but were cytotoxic against breast cancer (IC50 1.58mg/mL) and gastric cancer cells (IC50 2.38mg/mL), respectively. The aqueous extract of Limnophila indica displayed cytotoxicity against gastric cancer (IC50 2.24mg/mL) and breast cancer cells (IC50 1.25mg/mL), but did not effect the growth of normal and colon cancer cells.

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2. Graham, J.G. et al. (2000)J. Ethnopharmacol. 73: 347–377.

3. Ghani, A. (2003) Medicinal Plants of Bangladesh with Chemical Constituents and Uses. 2nd ed., Dhaka, Bangladesh: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.

4. Montoro, E. et al. (2005)J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 55: 500–505.