Study on the new use of antitumor of Dracaena cambodiana

OBJECTIVE: To screen the antitumor extract from Dracaena cambodiana Pierre ex Gagnep. METHODS: The 95% ehanol extract from Dracaena cambodiana was treated in the way of solvent partition and resin column chromatography to afford different extracts. The antitumor activities of the different extracts in vitro were determined by MTT assay. RESULTS: The chloroform extract, ethyl acetate extract, and n-butanol extract showed strong growth inhibitory on B16 cells and SMMC-721 cells,and the extract of methanol elute showed weak activity,whereas the extracts of water,water elution,and 50% methanol/H2O elution had no activity. The chloroform extract was the most active. CONCLUSION: The chloroform extract is the principal antitumor extract from Dracaena cambodiana.