Antitumour principles from Peganum harmala seeds

From ancient times, Peganum harmala was claimed to be an important medicina l plant. Its seeds were known to possess hypothermic, and essentially hallu cinogenic properties. Various authors have undertaken studies on the antiba cterial, antifungal and antiviral effects of Peganum harmala seeds, but stu dies on the antitumour activity ai-e not to be found in the literature. In Moroccan traditional medicine, seed powder is sometimes used on skin and su bcutaneous tumours. This work was designed to investigate some aspects of t he antineoplastic properties of the plant Peganum. Varying concentrations ( 10 to 120 mu g/ml) of total alkaloid extracts of Peganum harmala seeds (col lected in Morocco) were tested in vitro on four tumoural cell-lines: Med-me k and UCP-Med carcinoma, UCP-Med sarcoma and Sp2/O-Ag14. In vivo experiment s were performed with the Sp2/O cell-line grafted subcutaneously in syngeni c BALB/c mice. In vitro, proliferation of tumoural cell lines was significa ntly reduced by all tested concentrations of the Peganum alkaloid extracts during the first 24 h of contact. A cell lysis effect occurred after 24 h a nd progressed to complete cell death within 48 to 72 h depending on the alk aloid concentration. Results obtained indicate that alkaloids of Peganum ha ve a high cell toxicity in vitro. The active principle at a dose of 50 mg/k g given orally to mice for 40 days was found to have significant antitumour al activity. Peganum harmala alkaloids thus possess significant antitumour potential, which could prove useful as a novel anticancer therapy.