Estudo da atividade citotóxica do extrato bruto etanólico de Psychotria prunifolia (Rubiaceae) em células tumorais e normais in vitro

Abstract

The use of medicinal plants has become a widely accepted therapeutic alternative by the population and it has been also growing in the medical community, provided that their biological activities, efficacy, and safety have been scientifically investigated and proved. Therefore we investigated the cytotoxic potential of the crude ethanolic extract of Psychotria prunifolia in tumor and normal cells, used as the control for tumor cells. To do this, we used two independent tests: the MTT and trypan blue. The results suggest that this plant presents cytotoxic activity in tumor cells, although this activity could also be observed in normal cells. Thus, it is necessary to perform more detailed studies, since the plant has proved promising with regard to antitumor activity.