Inhibitory Effect of Medicinal Secondary Compounds on Carcinogenic Cell-Lines

There are various methods used to treat cancer including the use of natural compounds. This paper describes the investigation of the cytotoxic effects of the plant Senna’s secondary compounds when exposed to different types of cancer cells. Cassia angustifolia (senna) is a native plant of Yemen, Somalia and Arabia. It is used medicinally in other parts of the world. The practical experiments carried out aim at showing the rate of growth inhibition of the cancer cells after their exposure to the Senna extracts. The hypothesis was: Senna would inhibit the growth of the cancer cells. The investigation was specifically viability studies and growth analysis of tumor cell lines. Observations were measured and recorded to determine the effectiveness of the varying Senna concentration on the specific tumor cells. The first group of experiments carried out exposes the Senna extractions to Lung cancer cell line A549. The growth analysis of Lung Cancer Cell line A549 after a “24-hours” exposure period shows inhibition of the growth at concentrations: 2.14, 1.1, 0.5, 0.3, 0.1, 0.07, and 0.03 mg/ml. The percentages of the growth are 0.0, 1.3, 5.9, 10.5, 41.6, 98.3, and 98.2 respectively. The second group of experiments exposes the Senna extractions to the colon Cancer Cell Line Colo320 and the results also show inhibition of the growth at concentrations that are 2.14, 1.1, 0.5, 0.3, 0.1, 0.07, and 0.03 mg/ml. The percentages of the growth are 1.15, 13.9, 16.5, 19.8, 44.2, 58.1, and 72.6 respectively. Colon Cancer Cell Line SW620 is affected by the Senna extractions, as shown by the third group of experiments. The percentages of growth are 8.6, 12.3, 32.7, 46.5, 75.4, 88.6, and 95.8 for each of the concentrations that are 2.14, 1.1, 0.5, 0.3, 0.1, 0.07, and 0.03 mg/ml respectively. The last group of experiments indicates the growth inhibition rate of the Senna on the Prostate Cancer Cell Line PC3. All these cells are affected by the compounds of Senna that decrease their growth rate. The percentages of growth are 18.4, 44.3, 75.2, 95.0, 112.1, 115.6, and 105.8 for each of the concentrations that are 2.14, 1.1, 0.5, 0.3, 0.1, 0.07, and 0.03 mg/ml respectively. When comparing the two colon cancer cell lines, Colo320 was inhibited more than SW620.