Screening In vitro Anticancer Activity of Alseodaphne semecarpifolia Nees Stem Bark Extracts against some Cancer Cell lines

Introduction: Cancer is considered as the prime lethal disease that affects different organs of the body. Even with the rapid developments in the medical sciences, there are no proper medicines to cure specific kind of cancer without side effects. The inhibition of tumour cell growth without side effects either by the use herbal or synthetic drugs is considered as an important target in cancer therapy. In traditional medicinal system A. semecarpifolia stem bark is the prime source of herbal drug to treat lymphatic and skin cancers. Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the anticancer potential of A. semecarpifolia stem bark extracts against some cancer cell lines. Methods: The in vitro anticancer activity was evaluated against DLA, EAC, HeLa, HepG2 and L929 cell lines by trypan blue dye exclusion assay and SRB assay. Results: The results of the anticancer activity revealed that, when compared to standard drug Cyclophosphamide, SBPEE and SBCE of A. semecarpifolia showed significant anticancer activity against DLA and EAC cell lines, without causing any toxicity to the normal mouse fibroblast cells L929. Whereas, none of the three extracts showed cytotoxicity against HeLa, HepG2 and L929 cell lines. Conclusion: The present study suggested that, SBPEE and SBCE possesses significant cytotoxic activity against DLA and EAC cell lines, which confirms the traditional medicinal claim of A. semecarpifolia as a potent anticancer plant against lymphatic and skin cancer.