Screening for Anticancer Activity of Palestinian Plants

Walid Mahmoud Hassan Khaleeliah One hundred and fifteen ethanolic extracts prepared from 96 plant species from Palestine were evaluated for anticancer activity against two prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3 and LNCaP; and one breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, using cell proliferation MTT assay and a 96-microwell plate-reader. The results demonstrated that the studied plants differ significantly in their activity against test cancer cell lines. The most active plant species against test cancer cell linesinclude Cyclamen persicum Mill, Lycium europeum, Ecballium elaterium L., Euphorbia hierosolymitana, Capparis spinosa, Ononis sicula Guss., Anthemis tunictoria L, I erbascum sinuatum, and Nerium oleander L. For PC-3 cell line the most active plants include Cyclamen persicum Mill, Lycium europeum L., Ecballium elaterium (L.) Rick, Euphorbia hierosolymitana Boiss, Anthemis tunictoria L., Verbascum sinuatum L. and Nerium oleander L. For LNCaP cell line the most active plants include Cyclamen persicum Mill, Verbascum sinuatum L., and Capparis spinosa L. For MCF-7 cell line the most active plant species include Cyclamen persicum Mill, Lycium europeumL., lsuphorhia hierosolymiiana Boiss, and Ononis sicula Guss. Another important observation was the stimulation of PC-3 cell line by some plants, for instance Crataegus aronial, Ziziphus spina-christi, Salvia fruiticosa, Retema raetam, and Parietaria diffusa. These plant species were used in folkloric medicine for many diseases and disorders. Significantly, stimulation of LNCaP and MCF-7 cell lines was observed also with Quercus calliprines and Chrysanthemum coronarium, which are used as popular remedies. Therefore, care must be taken with respect to the great number of plant extracts that show stimulation of cancer cells. The results demonstrated that Ether and Acetone fractions were the most active against the test cell lines. In addition Diethyl Ether dissolved terpeniods and some alkaloids, some of diterpenes and sesquiterpenes compounds act as anticancer drugs. Test cancer cell lines differed significantly in relation to their susceptibility to different plant extracts used. The most susceptible test cell line was PC-3, whereas the least susceptible one was LNCaP. Walid Mahmoud Hassan Khaleeliah Supervisor Prof. Mohammed S. Ali –Shtayeh 2001  Zajel / An-Najah National University