Anti-proliferative activity of extracts from Thai plants in Guttiferae and Schisandraceae families on human cancer cell lines

Abstract

Twenty-two methanol and chloroform crude extracts from Guttiferae (Hypericum hookerianum Wight & Arn; Garcinia speciosa Wall; Garcinia xanthochymus Hook. F. ex T. Anderson; Cratoxylum formosum subsp. pruniflorum (Kurz) Gogel; and Calophyllum polyanthum Wall ex Choisy) and Schisandraceae families (Schisandra verruculosa Gagnap) collected from the northern region of Thailand were tested for antiproliferative activity on B16F10 (melanoma), HeLa (cervical carcinoma), and KB (epidermoid carcinoma) human cancer cell lines using the sulforhodamine-B (SRB) binding assay. All crude extracts showed an interesting antiproliferative activity with a dose-response relationship. The chloroform extract from leaves of G. speciosa was the most potent in inhibiting cancer cell growth with the GI50 of 4, 6.6, and 3.7 μg/mL in HeLa, KB, and B16F10 cell lines, which were 13-, 20- and 142-fold less potent than doxurubicin, respectively. The information from this study can explain the use of these plants in Thai traditional medicine and suggests the potential for further development of these extracts to new pharmaceuticals. © 2007 Informa Healthcare.