Plants have been used for medical purposes since the beginning of human history and are the basis of modern medicine. Most\nchemotherapeutic drugs for cancer treatment are molecules identified and isolated from plants or their synthetic derivatives. Our\nhypothesis was that whole plant extracts selected according to ethnobotanical sources of historical use might contain multiple\nmolecules with antitumor activities that could be very effective in killing human cancer cells. This study examined the effects of\nthree whole plant extracts (ethanol extraction) on human tumor cells. The extracts were from Urtica membranacea (Urticaceae),\nArtemesia monosperma (Asteraceae), and Origanum dayi post (Labiatae). All three plant extracts exhibited dose- and timedependent\nkilling capabilities in various human derived tumor cell lines and primary cultures established from patients� biopsies.\nThe killing activity was specific toward tumor cells, as the plant extracts had no effect on primary cultures of healthy human cells.\nCell death caused by the whole plant extracts is via apoptosis. Plant extract 5 (Urtica membranacea) showed particularly strong\nanticancer capabilities since it inhibited actual tumor progression in a breast adenocarcinoma mouse model. Our results suggest\nthat whole plant extracts are promising anticancer reagents.
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