Anticancer Activity of Extracts from some Endemic Tanzanian Plants

Abstract

Plants have shown to be good sources of a variety of drugs for human ailments including cancer. Tanzania is rich in plant species most of which have not been investigated for any biological activity. In the continuing effort to screen Tanzanian plants for anticancer activity, plants were collected from Lindi region and extracts tested for the activity using two cell lines namely RT112 (Human bladder transitional cell carcinoma) and HeLa (Human cervical carcinoma). Of the 52 extracts from 26 plants of different families tested, 5 demonstrated potential activity on the cells. Extract X13 had an exceptionally high activity on both cell lines while extract X29 was highly active on HeLa cells. Fractionation and isolation of constituents from the extracts that have shown anticancer activity in these cell lines is recommended. Keywords : Medicinal plants, extracts, anticancer activity, screening East and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 10 (3) 2007: pp. 63-67