In Vitro Biological Activity and Lymphoma Cell Growth Inhibition by Selected Mexican Medicinal Plants.

Cancer is a major health problem with significant morbidity and mortality. In addition, plants are a source of metabolites with diverse biological properties, including antitumor potential. In this study, we investigated the in vitro murine lymphoma L5178Y-R cell growth inhibition, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) toxicity and proliferation, and antioxidant, hemolytic, and anti-hemolytic activities of methanol extracts from 15 plants of traditional use in Mexico. caused the highest tumor cell growth inhibition with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC) of 29.10 µg/mL and a selectivity index >34.36 compared with those of PBMC, whereas showed the highest lymphoproliferative activity from 200 µg/mL compared with that induced by concanavalin A. In addition, showed an antioxidant effect (IC = 2.86 µg/mL) higher than that of ascorbic acid. Regarding the hemolytic and anti-hemolytic activity, all extracts presented significant anti-hemolytic activity. The extract of is emerging as a possible source of effective antineoplastic compounds.