Studies on the anticancer activities of selected traditional medicinal plants with a detailed cytotoxic mechanism of indirubin

Abstract

Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality across the world. newlineChemotherapy and radiation therapy are widely used as an adjuvant after surgical newlineremoval of the cancer tissue and also as a first-line therapy where surgery is not newlinepossible. Many of the successful anticancer drugs like Paclitaxel, Vinca alkaloids and newlinecamptothecin were derived from plants. Plants traditionally used in the Indian system newlineof medicine such as Ayurveda, Siddha and the Chinese medicine offer valuable newlinecompounds for use in the treatment of cancer. However, the mechanisms of action of newlinemany of these traditional compounds are not studied in detail. In this study, ten newlinetraditional medicinal plants, namely Bacopa monnieri, Berberis aristata, Boswellia newlineserrata, Centella asiatica, Commiphora mukul, Terminalia chebula, Tinospora newlinecordifolia, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Withania somnifera and Indigofera tinctoria have newlinebeen evaluated for their anticancer potential. The selection was made based on newlineethnomedical observations and their reputation as traditional medicines in the newlinetreatment of tumours and related disorders. The plant extracts were investigated in newlinecancer cell lines namely, SiHa, PC3 and HeLa for cytotoxicity and ability to induce newlineapoptosis or programmed cell death. Few of the extracts showed cytotoxic activity; newlinehowever, at very high concentrations. A lead compound from Indigofera tinctoria, newlineindirubin was selected through systematic laboratory studies and detailed mechanism newlineof its anticancer activity has been elucidated. newlineIndirubin, the bis-indole alkaloid from Indigofera tinctoria, inhibited the proliferation newlineof HeLa cells with an IC50 of 40 and#956;M and induced a moderate mitotic block. At newlineconcentrations higher than its IC50, indirubin significantly depolymerized the newlineinterphase microtubule network and mitotic spindles in HeLa cells. newline