Pharmacological Studies on Four Anti-Tumor Medicinal Plants Grown in Sudan

Medicinal plants have been indispensible in treating diverse forms of diseases. Therefore, searching for plant species and highlighting their applications in tradition medicine provide an overview of their curative activities. This study is carried out to assess the cytotoxicity of four medicinal plants namely, Ambrosia maritimaL., Ammivisnaga L., AristolochiabracteolataL. and Lawsoniainermis L., grown in Sudan, traditionally used as antitumor. Furthermore, the study extent to investigate their safety profile on RAW 246.7 normal cell line. Dichloromethane (DCM) and 80% methanolic (MeOH) plant extracts were screened for their cytotoxic activity via the Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay (BSLA). The potential cytotoxic extracts were estimated for their safety profile using MTT assay. The most active and less toxic extract was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening. The plants extracts, except those of A. visnaga, showed lethality against brine shrimp (LC50= 0.015 to 6.6 μg/ml). Of all of the MTT assessed extracts, A. maritima DCM, A. bracteolata seeds and branches MeOH extracts showed no detrimental effect on RAW 246.7 normal cell line. Preliminary phytochemical screening of A. maritima DCM extract revealed the presence of coumarins, flavonoids, sterols and