Comparative Study of Some Medicinal Plants for Their Phytotoxic- Antiproliferative Potentials

Abstract

This study was undertaken to carry out the screening of five plants (Tecoma stans, Trema orientalis, Samanea saman, Alstonia scholaris, and Ampelocissus latifolia) for their phytotoxic and antiproliferative effects using some basic bench-top assays. Aqueous extracts were prepared and comparative studies were done among these plants using wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings, onion (Allium cepa L.) bulbs, and lesser duckweed (Lemna minor L.) fronds as the experimental plant models. Among these plants, Ampelocissus latifolia and Trema orientalis showed superior antiproliferative activity in the primary screening test on wheat seedlings. Results of successive experiments revealed that Ampelocissus latifolia-aqueous extract showed the highest extent of phytotoxic and antiproliferative activities on all the bioassays. Thus, this study may open up a new arena to explore the scientific validation and justification of using the plants for therapeutic purposes