Anti-Mitotic properties of Pawpaw, Pomegranate and Safflower

Deaths due to cancer are on the increase all over the world. Drugs that are used in chemotherapy produce serious side effects on the patient. This study aimed at determining the anti-mitotic activity of pomegranate, pawpaw and safflower. The antimitotic activities are used a leads to finding the anticancer properties of crude extracts. The pomegranate, pawpaw and safflower samples were collected from Egerton University while the onions were collected from Njokerio market. The plant samples were dried under room temperature (23 ± 2°C). Extraction of crude extracts was carried out using petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. The presence of glucosides, phenolics, flavonoids, coumarins, alkaloids, tannins and saponins was determined. The onion roots were trimmed using a sterile surgical blade. The onions were placed on bottles with the roots touching the crude extracts at dilutions of up to 104. The lengths of the roots were measured after 5 d. The root tips were separately macerated before preparation of temporally slides. The slides were observed for stages of mitotic cell division. There was no significant difference between the yield of the crude extracts in pomegranate, safflower and pawpaw (F=0.1295 P=0.8809). There were variations in the chemical compounds in the crude extracts of pomegranate, pawpaw and safflower. The length of onion roots after exposure to crude extracts from pomegranate, safflower and pawpaw varied significantly (F=32.8524 P=7.58E-05). The crude extracts from pomegranate, pawpaw and safflower interfered with mitotic cell division in onion roots. The crude extracts from pomegranate, pawpaw and safflower inhibited root development in onions. This suggested that the extracts have antitumor properties. There is need of testing the crude extracts against tumorous cells to determine whether they have the potential of curing or protecting against cancer.