Abstract

AbstractPlant species serve as a rich source of many novel biologically active compounds, with cancer treatment being developed from natural products as early as the 1960s. This study was carried out to investigate the anti-proliferative activity of Maerua edulis against human leukemic Jurkat-T cell line. Anticancer activity of the aqueous, acetone, hexane and methanol extracts of M. edulis root were evaluated against Jurkat-T cells, using 1, 3-bis (2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) as a reference drug. The effects of incubating BCNU and reduced glutathione (GSH) on the activity of the extracts as well as the reversibility of the effects extract were determined. Only the methanol extract significantly inhibited the growth of Jurkat-T cells with a GI50 of 18.54 μg.ml-1. There was no interaction with BCNU and methanol extract, though there was a decline in cell viability with increasing M. edulis concentration. When incubated with the antioxidant GSH, the sensitivity of cells to methanol extract did not change. It was noted that the effects of M. edulis on Jurkat-T cells were irreversible. M. edulis may be a potential source of lead compounds with anti-cancer activity and further studies are required in order to isolate these active compounds.