Cytotoxicity of ten Philippine medicinal plants (10HG) on the A549 lung carcinoma cell line

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of disease worldwide with lung cancer as the third cause of morbidity in the Philippines. Current anticancer treatments are costly and pose serious side effects to the patient thus, prompting the exploration of alternative anticancer drugs. In this study, methanolic extracts of the “sampung halamang gamot” endorsed by the Department of Health – Philippine Institute of Traditional Alternative Health Care (DOHPITAHC) were tested on A549 human lung carcinoma cell line and NIH/3T3 murine normal fibroblast cell line in order to determine their anticancer activity. Cytotoxicity of the plant extracts was determined through the percent inhibition (PI) and quantified by the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) calculated through the 3-[4,5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric assay. A selectivity index (SI) was also used to determine the specificity of the extract’s toxicity on cancer and normal cells. Among those that were determined to be cytotoxic to A549 cells, the top three plant extracts with significant cytotoxicity that met standards set by the National Cancer Institute were Carmona retusa, Psidium guajava, and Momordica charantia. These plant extracts also exhibited high SI values. These results warrant a combinatorial study in order to optimize their potency. Isolation and identification of compounds responsible for the cytotoxicity are also recommended for future development of plant-based anticancer drugs. These discoveries promote the use of herbal medicine as a low-cost alternative to traditional lung anticancer treatments.