Cytotoxic Evaluation of the Aqueous Extract of some Selected Medicinal Plants Combinations on Lung Carcinoma Epithelial Cells A549 and Human Cervix Carcinoma HeLa S330194

Many are the anti-cancer drugs currently in use but unfortunately, they fail to differentiate cancer cells from healthy cells. The aim of this study is to find an alternative way based only on medicinal plants to treat cancer by enhancing the immune system without damaging the healthy cells for the well-being of the patient. This study investigated the cytotoxic effect(s) of (04) Combined Plants Aqueous Extracts (CPAE) made of some selected medicinal plants: Annona muricata (leave), Moringa oleifera (leave), Ocimum gratissimum (leave and stem), Curcuma longa (rhizome) and Zingiber officinalis (rhizome) on two human cancer cell lines, lung carcinoma epithelial cells A549 and human cervix carcinoma HeLa S330194. The extracts were named Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Lambda. Cytotoxic assay with WST-1 reagent, Cell cycle analysis and Apoptosis DNA fragmentation assay were carried out after 48h of treatment against a negative control (culture medium) and positive controls (Camptothecin and Etoposide). The findings revealed that the CPAE activated programmed cell death coupled with cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phases which resulted into cell growth inhibition with the best IC50 value of 107g/mL for Gamma extract on A549 cell lines. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism of action of the CPAE. Keywords: CPAE, Camptothecin, Etoposide, Cancer cell lines, A549, HeLa S330194.