Aqueous and ethanol extracts of different traditional Malaysian plants (Polygonum minus, Andrographis paniculata, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, Momordica charantia and Strobilanthes crispus) were evaluated for their antioxidant properties, total phenolic content and cytotoxic activity. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by using 1,1-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The results showed that ethanol extracts contain high antioxidant activities compared to aqueous extracts. The findings exhibited a strong correlation between antioxidant activity and the total phenol contents. In addition, all the plant extracts showed non-toxic effects against a normal human lung fibroblast cell line (Hs888Lu). Although traditionally aqueous extracts are used, we determined that ethanol extracts usually achieved better activity in the assays.

The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro cellular activity of novel spiroisoxazoline type compounds against normal and cancer cell lines from lung tissue (Hs888Lu), neuron-phenotypic cells (SH-SY5Y), neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y), human histiocytic lymphoma (U937), lung cancer (A549), and leukaemia (HL-60). Our bioassay program revealed that the spiroisoxazoline type compounds show cytotoxicity only in lymphoma cell lines, which is in contrast with the pyrrolidine precursor of these spiroisoxazoline compounds, where significant cytotoxicity is seen in all normal and cancer cell lines. These data suggest a tumour-specific mechanism of action. In addition these data also show that spiroisoxazoline compounds are non-toxic in the human neuronphenotypic neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cell line, and furthermore that they might protect cells from neurodegenerative disease.