In Vitro Cytotoxic Activity of Medicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of Cancer

The SRB assay was used to test in vitro cytotoxicity against four human cancer cell lines of six Indian medicinal plant species which are being used by traditional people in tribal regions for the treatment of ulcers and other diseases of patients. The ethanolic and aqueous extracts were tested against human cancer cell lines such as human neuroblastoma cell line (IMR‐32) and colon cell lines (HT‐15 & HT‐29) and lung cancer cell lines A‐549. The results showed that plants Calotropis procera, Ocimum sanctum and Cannabis sativa, exhibited a very high degree of in vitro cytotoxic activity. The results showed a certain degree of selectivity against the different cell types with different extracts.