Growth inhibition of human acute lymphoblastic CCRF-CEM leukemia cells by medicinal plants of the West-Canadian Gwich’in Native Americans

The Gwich’in, which belong to the Athapaskan language group of Native Americans live in the borderland between Alaska and Canada. We analyzed 29 medicinal plants of this tribe for their growth inhibitory activity against CCRF-CEM T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cells. The anti-leukemic activity of these plants has not been investigated as yet. Considering the poor cure rates of some ALL forms, there might be a great potential for medicinal plants as resource for natural products to treat T-ALL. We found that the hexane extracts of three plants revealed considerable growth inhibition on CCRF-CEM cells. The 50% inhibition concentrations (IC50) were 6.63 ± 0.03 μg/ml for Cladina mitis, 8.65 ± 0.38 μg/ml for Picea mariana (needles), and 9.67 ± 1.36 μg/ml for Artemisia frigida. Further investigations are required to isolate the active constituents of these plants.