Preliminary screening for in vitro cytotoxic and inhibition nitric oxide (NO) production
acivities were carried out on fourteen extracts of different parts of eight Garcinia
species. These extracts were evaluated for cytotoxic activity using microculture
tetrazolium, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay
by measuring the reduction of viability of cell cultures in the presence and absence of
the extracts. Four type of cancer cell lines, HL-60 (leukemia), MCF-7 (breast), DU-145
(prostate) and NCI-H460 (non-small cell lung) were used for a preliminary picture of
extracts selectivity profile. NO inhibition (in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated
macrophages) activity was evaluated using Griess assay.
Extract of the stem bark from G. cowa Roxb showed selective cytotoxicity towards NCI-
H460 (IC50 = 11 μg/mL). The extract also exhibited inhibition of NO production (IC50= 25 μg/mL) without being cytotoxic to RAW 264.7 cells. Based on these promising
selective cytotoxicity towards NCI-H460 and NO inhibitory activities, G. cowa was
selected for further studies on the isolation and identification its active components
