Identification of an anticancer compound contained in seeds of Maesa lanceolata, a medicinal plant in Ethiopia

Abstract

Maesa lanceolata is an ethno-medicinal plant distributed in Central and East Africa, especially Ethiopia and Kenya. It has been used as a traditional medicine against bacterial infections in the small intestine and viral infections in the liver and throat, as well as treatment for rheumatic arthritis. Even though the activity of M. lanceolata leaves has been studied in angiogenesis, which is significantly related to cancer and tumorigenesis, tangible evidence for cancer inhibiting activity of M. lanceolata seeds has not yet been obtained. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in which an anti-cancer compound has been identified from the seeds of M. lanceolata and its anti-tumor activity evaluated in HCT116 human colon cancer cells.