Effects of Mimosa tenuiflora bark extracts on WI38 and KB human cells in culture.

The effects of three extracts from barks of Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd) Poir, Leguminosae, on the growth rate of two human cell lines were investigated. The plant material was extracted with petroleum ether, ethylacetate and butanol, and the obtained products were evaluated in their ability to modify growth of WI38 normal embryonic fibroblasts, and KB cells from a nasopharyngeal carcinoma in tissue culture conditions. The ethylacetate and butanol extracts produced growth rate inhibition with a different pattern depending on the cell line studied; in contrast, the petroleum ether extract markedly increased proliferation of the same cells in vitro.