Background: The use of conventional cancer medication is limited by cytotoxicity on normal cells, intolerability of the drugs used and emergence of aggressive tumors which do not respond to treatment. Herbal alternatives are now being touted to be of promising efficacy. Fagaropsis angolensis (FA) has wide ranging ethno medicinal uses in Kenya. However, the anticancer potential of this plant is yet to be fully explored. The present study aims to determine the antiproliferative activity of crude extracts of Fagaropsis angolensis (FA) against African monkey kidney (Vero, E6), throat cancer (Hep2) and colon cancer (CT 26-CL 25) cell lines. Methods: Water and methanol extracts of FA were qualitatively screened to determine their phytochemical composition. In vitro growth inhibition capacity of these extracts on African monkey kidney (Vero, E6), throat cancer (HeP2) and colon cancer (CT-26-CL-25) cell lines was then assessed using the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium assay and expressed as 50% inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ). Doxorubicin (standard anticancer agent) was used for comparison. Results: On Vero cell lines, statistical differences (p<0.05) were noted in the IC 50 values of methanol whole root and methanol root stem extracts of FA (5.80+/-0.80μg/ml) against 1.10+/-0.70μg/ml) as well as between Doxorubicin and methanol root stem extracts of FA (6.5+/-3.25 μg/ml against 1.10+/-0.70μg/ml). On colon cancer cell lines, statistical differences (p<0.05) were noted between the IC 50 values of Doxorubicin and the methanol root stem extract of FA (19.00+/-9.00ug/ml against 8.33+/-1.42μg/ml) as well as between Doxorubicin and methanol whole root extract of FA (19.00+/-9.00μg/ml against 5.25+/-0.35μg/ml). The effects of the extracts of FA on throat cancer cell lines were unremarkable. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the choice of solvent may have some effect on the IC 50 values of the extracts on cancer cell lines. It may also be suggested that the methanol root stem and whole root extracts of FA may be sources of important lead molecules that may be useful in the treatment of colon cancer. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the methanol root stem and whole root extracts of FA may be sources of important lead molecules in cancer therapy. 3,4,5 However, therapy induced toxicity on normal body cells, the emergence of aggressive and therapy resistant tumors, as well as low selectivity indices of some chemotherapeutic agents has limited the efficacy of current conventional therapy. 4,6,7 Therefore, there is a need to search for new sources of bioactive compounds that may serve as starting material in the drug development process. Fagaropsis angolensis is a tree that belongs to the Rutacea family.8 In Kenya, the stem bark is used in ethno medical treatment of malaria while the root is chewed as an expectorant.9,10 The antiproliferative activity of this plant is yet to be reported. The present study was conducted to evaluate the antiproliferative activity of Fagaropsis angolens...

Introduction: At present, acyclovir is commercially available as the drug of choice for managing herpes simplex type I (HSV-1) viral infection. However, the high prevalence of the infection coupled with the emergence of resistant viral strains has limited its effectiveness. Thus, the development of novel antiviral agents is crucial. Practitioners of herbal medicine in Kenya make use of Dicrocephala integrifolia (DI) for the management of several diseases including viral infections. However, information on the efficacy of this plant against HSV-1 viral infection is not available. The aim of the present study was to determine the in vitro antiviral activity of crude extracts of DI against HSV-1. Methods: Leaves, roots, flowers and stems of DI were extracted using water (W) and methanol (ME) and qualitatively screened to identify the phytoconstituents present. Furthermore, the anti HSV-1 activity of the obtained extracts was evaluated on Vero cell lines using the 3-[4, 5 dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay. The 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC 50 ) and 50% effective concentration (EC 50 ) of each extract was determined using regression analysis. The effects of crude DI extracts on adsorption and post-adsorption stages of the HSV-1 replication cycle was evaluated against acyclovir using a cytopathogenic inhibition assay. Results: Alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, phenols, saponins, tannins and terpenoids were found to be present in the extracts. The CC 50 values of the aqueous DI extracts was in the range 71.31 ± 2.65 to >100 µg/ml compared to >100 µg/ml of acyclovir. The EC 50 values of crude extracts of DI on the pre-adsorptive phase of HSV-1 activity was in the range 54.45±3.45 to >100µg/ml compared to 4.772±7.81µg/ml of acyclovir whilst the EC 50 value of the crude extracts of DI on the post-adsorptive phase of HSV-1 activity was in the range 45.270±4.31 to >100µg/ml compared to >100µg/ml of acyclovir. Conclusion: The results suggest that crude extracts of DI may be a reservoir of phytochemicals with potentially good efficacy against HSV-1.