In vitro antiproliferative activities of some Ghanaian medicinal plants

Background Cancer continues to pose a significant threat to human well-being due to the overwhelming rate of morbidity and mortality associated with it. Hence, the quest for newer, effective and safer anticancer agents has become more crucial. Over the years, some medicinal plants have been used to treat abnormal tissue growths (tumours) in Ghana. Even though sufficient literature points out that people found some relief in their use, there is limited scientific evidence of their antiproliferative activities. Method Ethanolic extracts of nine medicinal plant materials from seven plant species, including the stem bark of Terminalia superba , Talbotiella gentii and Ceiba pentandra and the leaves of Morinda lucida , Dracaena arborea , Dioscorea dumetorum , Thaumatococcus danielli , Ceiba pentandra and Talbotiella gentii , were evaluated for antiproliferative activities against four human cancer cell lines (hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal adenocarcinoma, cervical carcinoma, and mammary adenocarcinoma) using an MTT-based assay. Results The extract of C. pentandra leaves, exhibited generally higher antiproliferative activity, which was particularly substantial against human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells (IC 50 = 16.3 µg/mL) and human colorectal adenocarcinoma (RKO) cells (IC 50 = 18.7 µg/mL). All the other plant materials demonstrated weak (IC 50 : 201–500 µg/mL) to moderate (IC 50 : 21–200 µg/mL) antiproliferative activities against the four cancer cell lines. Conclusion The extracts of the plant materials demonstrated varied antiproliferative activities. Extract of C. pentandra leaves exhibited the highest antiproliferative activity. The IC 50 values of C. pentandra leaves met the benchmark to be considered effective against HepG2 and RKO cancer cell lines in particular. Therefore, there is the need to further undertake fractionation work on C. pentandra leaves. The antiproliferative effect of extract of C. pentandra leaves against other cancer cell lines and normal cell line could also be explored in the future to ascertain the anticancer potential of this plant material. Generally, findings from this work support the indigenous use of these plant materials in treating abnormal tissue growth in Ghana.