In vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of benzyl isothiocyanate: a natural product from Tropaeolum majus.

Cultured cells of Tropaeolum majus produce significant amounts of benzyl glucosinolate which, through enzymatic hydrolysis, results in the production of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC). This study reports on the in vitro anticancer properties of BITC against a variety of human and murine tumor cell lines by four independent methods; SRB, MTT, cell counting, and clonogenic assays. Regardless of the assay used, BITC showed promising cytotoxicity in the low micromolar range (0.86 to 9.4 microM) against four human ovarian carcinoma cell lines (SKOV-3, 41-M, CHl, CHlcisR), a human lung tumor (H-69), a murine leukemia (L-1210), and a murine plasmacytoma (PC6/sens). The L1210 cells were most sensitive. BITC administered to mice bearing the ADJ/PC6 plasmacytoma subcutaneous tumor showed toxic effects at a dose of 200 mg/kg (within 24 h of drug administration) but no reduction in tumor mass. However, the growth inhibitory properties of BITC against a range of tumor cell types warrant further in vivo anti-tumor evaluation as well as its biotechnological production.