In vitro anticancer activity of medicinal plants of Himalayan region

Abstract

Plant-derived products have gained attention over the past few years due to their potential as novel cancer preventive and therapeutic agents. Himalayan region is known for its vast  reserve  of  natural  resources. The present study was planned with the objective to explore the anticancer potential of plants of Himalayan region. Total twenty lyophilized plant extracts were prepared after extraction with 70 % ethanol. All plant extracts were evaluated for percent cytotoxicity against LC-540 Leydig Cell Testicular Tumor cell line (rats) at various concentration levels (20, 50, 100 and 200 µM) and at different time of incubation (24, 48, 72 h). The results revealed that the aqua-ethanolic extract of leaves of Camellia sinensis exhibited maximum anticancer activity among all twenty extracts screened, with 42.74 ± 4.63 % and 68 ± 1.74 % cytotoxicity at 100 µM and 200 µM concentration respectively, followed by Lantana camara, Tinospora cordiofolia and Cedrus deodara. Further exploration of in vivo antineoplastic effects and probable mechanism of action of its potent phyto-constituents could be highly useful in developing an effective herbal formulation in cancer therapeutics.