Journal of Cancer Research
- ISSN: 2578-3726
Rehan Haider
Cancer remains a first-rate international health issue, necessitating the exploration of novel healing agents. Conventional medicinal flora has long been a source of anticancer compounds. Selaginella, a genus of lycophytes, has a rich history of medicinal use in numerous conventional remedies. This article examines targets to assess the cytotoxic activity of determined species of Selaginella as a step toward identifying promising natural products for cancer treatment. Conventional anticancer vegetation from the Selaginella genus was screened using aqueous and ethanolic extracts. Five species, especially Selaginella pulvinata, Selaginella moellendorffii, Selaginella uncinata, Selaginella lepidophylla, and Selaginella tamariscina, had been determined based mostly on their traditional use and regional abundance. These species accumulated from unique geographical areas to assess the capabilities of their cytotoxic pastime. The plant extracts were subjected to cytotoxicity assays using human cancer cell lines, including breast carcinoma (MCF-7), lung adenocarcinoma (A549), and prostate adenocarcinoma (pc-3), and colon adenocarcinoma (HT-29). The MTT assay was used to determine the inhibitory concentration (IC50) at which 50% of the cell increase was inhibited. The results showed diverse tiers of cytotoxic pastimes in some of the tested Selaginella spp. The ethanolic extracts of Selaginella tamariscina exhibited the highest cytotoxicity among all the examined cancer cell strains, with IC50 values ranging from 10 to 30 g/mL. Conversely, Selaginella moellendorffii displayed noticeably weaker cytotoxicity than opportunistic species. To gain insight into the underlying mechanisms of cytotoxicity, the active extracts were similarly subjected to phytochemical evaluation, which revealed the presence of numerous bioactive compounds, including alkaloids, flavonoids, and terpenoids. These findings highlight the potential of certain species of Selaginella as a promising source of herbal anticancer compounds. Similarly, investigations into the isolation and characterization of energetic additives are warranted to increase the capability of lead compounds for cancer drug development. The discovery of novel and effective anticancer agents from traditional medicinal vegetation can also provide valuable alternatives or complementary techniques for most cancer-healing procedures. However, preclinical and clinical studies are required to validate their safety and efficacy for eventual use in most patients with cancer.