This is perhaps the first study that deals with the screening
of plants from Darjeeling hills for their cytotoxic activity
against cancerous cell lines. The outcome of the
present study indicates that five out of the thirty plants
tested, exerted a >50% growth inhibitory effect on HeLa,
MCF7 and HepG2 cancer cells. The level of inhibition
was different for different cell lines and none of the
extract could inhibit all the three cancer cell lines
under investigation. Only one plant, Maesa macrophylla,
showed a highly promising cytotoxic activity against HeLa
(IC50 9.55 μg/ml) and MCF7 (IC50 16.19 μg/ml) cell lines.
Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of multiple
medicinally active compounds. Identifying the active compound(s)
and comparing its cytotoxicity with known anticancer
compounds is in progress.