Cytotoxicity of some Cameroonian spices and selected medicinal plant extracts

Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance Several medicinal plants and spices are used traditionally to treat cancers in Cameroon. Aim Methanol extracts from thirty-four spices and plants, with related ethnobotanical use were investigated for their in vitro cytotoxicity on the human pancreatic cancer cell line MiaPaCa-2, leukemia CCRF-CEM cells and their multidrug resistant (MDR) subline CEM/ADR5000, and the normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In addition the anti-angiogenic properties of the most active extracts were investigated. Material and methods The MTS [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] assay was used for cyto…