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Background  Plant derived components have attracted particular attention as an alternative source to battle several diseases including cancer. The variation in the climate, the geographical location and the rich ethnomedicinal traditions has made the Darjeeling Himalayas an abode of invaluable repository of traditional medicinal plants. In this study, we explored the  in vitro  anticancer properties of traditionally used medicinal plants from the Darjeeling hills against different human cancer cell lines.    Methods  The ethanolic leaf extracts of 30 medicinal plants were tested for their cytotoxicity against human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF 7), human hepatocarcinoma cell line (HepG 2 ) and human cervix adenocarcinoma cell line (HeLa). The cytotoxicity was evaluated by performing MTT assay, trypan blue exclusion assay and morphological assessment under phase contrast inverted microscope. For the extracts which tested positive, IC 50  (the concentration that inhibited cell growth by 50%) was calculated. The extract(s) were further subjected to Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) to determine their phytochemical profile.    Results  Out of the 30 plant extracts tested, five plants,  Artemisia indica ,  Eupatorium odoratum ,  Eupatorium adenophorum ,  Maesa macrophylla  and  Phlogacanthus thyrsiformis  showed a > 50% growth inhibition of cancer cell lines at a concentration of 50 μg/ml. The sensitivity to different extracts varied according to the cell type under investigation. Of these plants,  Maesa macrophylla , exhibited the most potent cytotoxicity against HeLa and MCF7 cell with IC 50  values of 9.55 μg/ml and 16.19 μg/ml respectively. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of coumarins, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, steroids and terpenes.    Conclusions  This is perhaps the first report of screening of traditional medicinal plants from Darjeeling district in West Bengal, India, for their cytotoxic activity against three human cancerous cell lines MCF7, HeLa and HepG 2 . The extracts of  Maesa macrophylla  significantly inhibited the growth of HeLa and MCF7 cancerous cell lines and constituted of multiple known biologically active compounds. The present study may provide the landmark for further exploration of  M. macrophylla  for its potent anticancer constituents.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12906-015-0543-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

bmc complementary and alternative medicine

The in vitro cytotoxic activity of ethno-pharmacological important plants of Darjeeling district of West Bengal against different human cancer cell lines