Anticancer and antioxidative activities of stephania venosa

Abstract

Stephania venosa, known to be a rich source of isoquinoline alkaloids, is used as the Thai folk remedy for cancer treatment. Herein, ethanol and water extracts of the S. venosa were investigated for their cytotoxic and antioxidative activities. Significantly, the ethanol extract exerted the most potent cytotoxic activity against human small cell lung cancer (NCI-H187) with an IC50 of 4.88 ?g/mL. Such extract also displayed the activity against human breast cancer (MCF-7) with the IC50 of 19.76 ?g/mL. Both extracts were shown to be antioxidants. The ethanol extract exhibited the strongest superoxide and radical scavenging activities. The findings provide a potential of the plant species as therapeutics for treatment of lung and breast cancers. © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2011.