Potent in vitro cytotoxic and antioxidant activity of Careya arborea bark extracts.

Careya arborea is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of tumors and other ailments. The successive chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts and crude 50% methanol extract exhibited potent cytotoxicity against cancerous RD, HEp-2 and HeLa cell lines. They were found to be safe against the normal Vero cell line. The methanol and aqueous extracts possessed strong antioxidant activity against many oxidants in the in vitro antioxidant screening. The total phenol content of these extracts was found to be high. The results suggest strong cytotoxic and antioxidant properties and support the ethnomedical claims for the plant. Copyright 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.