Extracts of five medicinal herbs induced cytotoxicity in both hepatoma and myeloma cell lines

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the effect of the crude methanol extracts of five herbs (Pelargonium zonale, Terminalia bellerica, Philodendron selloum, Ulmus pumila and Ulmus parvifolia) on human hepatoma and murine myeloma cell lines. Assessment included in vitro neutral red cytotoxicity assay and cytopathological diagnosis. IC50 values obtained in both cell lines using neutral red assay showed that the plant extracts of both Terminalia bellerica and Philodendron selloum, were the most effective in inducing cytotoxicity in HepG2, IC50 (16.25±0.20 μg/ ml, 17.51±0.70 μg/ml respectively). The result showed that there was no significant difference in the IC50 between the different plants extract in Myeloma cell line. However, in hepatoma cell line, the IC50 of both Terminalia bellerica and Philodendron selloum were significantly lower (p< 0.01) than the IC50 of Ulmus pumila, Ulmus parvifolia and Pelorgonium zonale. The results indicated that the in vitro NR assay of cytotoxic activities induced by plant methanol extracts were supported by the cytopathological changes on the same population of cells. Conclusions: Neutral red cytotoxicity assay is a suitable test for screening anti-cancer potential of natural products materials. The present results showed that Terminalia bellerica and Philodendron selloum methanol extracts induced cytotoxicity on HepG2 cells. The identification of the effect of individual constituents of each plant methanol extract recommended. In vivo study on experimental level is needed to verify the mechanism of action. © 2011 Hassanein HI, et al.