Do cancer cells in human and meristematic cells in plant exhibit similar responses toward plant extracts with cytotoxic activities?

Abstract

We examined the effect of water extracts of Persea americana fruit, and of the leaves of Tabernamontana divericata, Nerium oleander and Annona cherimolia (positive control) on Vicia faba root cells. We had confirmed in our previously published data the cytotoxicity of these plant extracts on four human cancer cell lines: liver (HepG-2), lung (A549), colon (HT-29) and breast (MCF-7). Vicia faba roots were soaked in plant extracts at dilutions of 100, 1,250, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 ppm for 4 and 24 h. All treatments resulted in a significant reduction in the mitotic index in a dose dependant manner. Root cells treated with T. divericata, N. oleander and A. cherimolia exhibited a decrease in prophase cell percentage, increase in micronuclei and chromosomal abnormalities as concentration increased. The P. americana treatment showed the highest cytotoxic effect on cancer cells, prophase cell percentage increased linearly with the applied concentration and no micronuclei were detected. This study shows that root tip assay of beans can be used in initial screening for new plant extracts to validate their use as candidates for containing active cytotoxic agents against malignant cells. This will greatly help in exploring new plant extracts as drugs for cancer treatment.