In vitro anticancer activity of medicinal plants of Himalayan region

Plant-derived products have great potential to develop 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 mu g/mL) and at different exposure time (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 and 200 mu g/mL concentration respectively, followed by Lantana camara, Tinospora cordifolia 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.