Cytotoxic and Antitumor Potential of Fagonia cretica L.

摘要

According to traditional knowledge, Fagonia cretica has medicinal potential, especially against cancer and tumors. In the present study, this information was analyzed at laboratory level by performing cytotoxic, antitumor (potato disc) and DNA damage assay. Significant cytotoxic activity was found against brine shrimps at LD50 118.89 ppm, while antitumor assay showed that the extract inhibited tumor induction on potato discs. Significant antitumor activity was found against all the tumor-inducing Agrobacterium strains tested (At6, At10 and At77), with maximum tumor inhibition (77.04%) against At10. However, the extract did not show any lethal activity against Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains, and furthermore, no DNA damaging activity was observed. The overall results indicate a strong anti-cancerous potential of this plant.