Antifungal and Anticancer Potential of Argemone mexicana L.

Medicinal plants are widely used to treat infectious diseases, metabolic disorders and cancer. L. (), commonly found on desolate land of Marathwada (Maharashtra, India) has been used to treat oral cavity infections. In this study, cold aqueous and methanolic extracts were prepared from stem and leaves. These extracts were tested for their antifungal and anticancer activities. The antifungal activity was tested using the agar well diffusion method, while the anticancer activity against immortalized cell lines was assessed by trypan blue assay. It was observed that both cold aqueous and methanolic extracts of stem and leaves inhibited the growth of , , and . Antifungal activity of the extract was comparable to that of Amphoterecin-B. extracts had a cytotoxic effect on A549, SiHa and KB immortalized cell lines that were similar to that of berberine. The leaf and stems exhibit strong antifungal and anticancer potential.