Cytotoxicity of some Russian ethnomedicinal plants and plant compounds.

The cytotoxic action of crude ethanol extracts from 61 plant species used in Russian ethnomedicine for alleviating symptoms of diseases in cancer patients was studied on cultured human lymphoblastoid Raji cells. Extracts from Chelidonium majus, Potentilla erecta, Chamaenerium angustfolium, Filipendula ulmaria and Inula helenium possessed marked cytotoxicity, suppressing the growth of the cells at concentrations of 10 and 50 microg/mL. The cytotoxicity of purified active compounds from selected plant species was evaluated along with pharmaceutical antineoplastic drugs methotrexate, fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide and vinblastine. Sesquiterpene lactones helenin, telekin and artemisinin, aromatic polyacetylene capillin, and alkaloid preparation sanguirythrine suppressed cell growth at concentrations of 1-2 microg/mL, which exceeds the cytotoxicity of cyclophosphamide and fluorouracil.