<div><p>Many plant species within the terrestrial ecological zones of Canada have not yet been investigated for anti-cancer activity. We examined the scientific literature describing the endemic flora from the prairie ecological zone and selected the species, <i>Thermopsis rhombifolia</i>, locally known as the buffalo bean, for investigation of its anti-cancer potential. We tested it in cell-based assays using phenotypic screens that feature some of the hallmarks of cancer. An ethanolic extract prepared from <i>T. rhombifolia</i> was cytotoxic to HT-29 (colon) and SH-SY5Y (brain) cancer cell lines, and showed little cytotoxicity to a normal human cell line (WI-38). In phenotypic assays, we identified activities in the extracts that target cell death, cell cycle and cell adhesion. These data highlight the anti-cancer potential of previously untested plants found in northern ecological zones and the feasibility of using pertinent phenotypic assays to examine the anti-cancer potential of natural product extracts.</p></div
