In vitro cytotoxicity of some medicinal plants from Georgian amaryllidaceae

Using an ethnomedical data approach, some Georgian plants, which are used in Georgian traditional medicine for cancer or non-cancer diseases, were collected and evaluated for cytotoxic activity. The cytotoxic effect of the methanol extracts of species from the genera Galanthus and Leucojum was evaluated in vitro on three human cell lines (Hela, ephitheloid cervix carcinoma; HCT-116, colon carcinoma; HL-60, acute myeloid leukaemia). Cell type cytotoxic specificity was observed for some extracts. Overall, the HCT-116 cells were much more sensitive to most of the extracts than were the other cell lines. Plants that showed pronounced cytotoxic activity will be further evaluated for the possible isolation of active antitumour compounds. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.