Ethanolic extracts of California mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana Besser) are cytotoxic against normal and cancerous human cells

Publication date: June 2013 Source:Journal of Herbal Medicine, Volume 3, Issue 2 Author(s): Himali Somaweera , Gary C. Lai , Rachel Blackeye , Beverly Littlejohn , Justine Kirksey , Richard M. Aguirre , Vince LaPena , Anna Pasqua , Mary McCarthy Hintz California mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana Besser) is used by many indigenous tribes throughout California to treat a variety of conditions, including colds, allergies, and pain. California mugwort is also utilized as women's medicine. Its use is on the rise outside of Native communities, often without the guidance of a traditional healer or experienced herbalist. Because it has been shown to have antiproliferative activity against plant and animal cells, we investigated whether California mugwort extracts have an effect on normal human cells as well as estrogen receptor positive (ER+) and estrogen receptor negative (ER−) human breast cancer cells. Ethanolic and aqueous extracts of A. douglasiana leaves were tested for cytotoxicity against unstimulated normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMC), as well as against an ER+ human breast cancer cell line (BT-474) and an ER− human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231). An ethanolic leaf extract killed hPBMC, BT-474, and MDA-MB-231 cells with IC50 values of 23.6±0.3, 27±5, and 37±4μg/ml, respectively. An aqueous extract killed hPBMC with an IC50 value of 60±10μg/ml, but had no effect on the two cancer cell lines at concentrations up to 100μg/ml. The ...
Source: Journal of Herbal Medicine - Category: Complementary Medicine Source Type: research