Preliminary study on the anti-tumor effect of the extracts of four traditional Chinese medicines

Objective To estimate the anti-tumor activity of the extracts of four traditional Chinese medicines. Methods MTT assay was applied to screen the anti-tumor effect of the extracts of four traditional Chinese medicines on two tumor cell lines in vitro. Results Different extracts had variable inhibitory effect on different tumor cell lines. The extracts of Livistona chinensis R.Br. and Pyrola calliantha H.Andres had remarkable anti-tumor activity on Hela cell line, with IC50 95.51 and 95.40 mg·L-1, respectively. The extract of Duchenea indica(Andr.)Foche had some inhibitory effect on Hela cell line, with IC50 138.23 mg ·L-1. The extract of Livistona chinensis R.Br. had some inhibitory effect on Bel-7402 cell line, with IC50 122.84 mg·L-1 . Conclusions The extracts of Livistona chinensis R.Br. and Pyrola calliantha H.Andres had remarkable inhibitory effect on Hela cell line.