Abstract

Mansoa alliacea contains high concentrations of chemicals thought to be associated with the suppression of tumor growth. Additionally, this plant has been reported to possess analgesic, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties, thereby providing other potential benefits for cancer patients. Low doses of a water extract of M. alliacea were applied to a cancerous and non-cancerous cell line. Doses between 1.254 to 10.04 mg/ml of extract applied to T3-HA cancer cells inhibited cell growth, but higher doses of 29.92 to 89.6 mg/ml destroyed colonies of the cancer cells. Application of the extract to NIH Swiss mouse cell cultures resulted in the inhibition of growth at higher concentrations, but at a concentration of 10.14 mg/ml, cell growth began to increase after three days. However, cell death was less at lower concentrations than that of T3-HA cancer cells, thereby confirming that lower concentrations of Ajo de Monte will inhibit cancer cell growth as well as initially inhibit non-cancer cells. Thus, M. alliacea extract selectively targets T3-HA mouse cancer cells but not NIH Swiss embryonic mouse cells. Future research may consider the use of this plant for human cancer patients.

Key words: Mansoa alliacea, Garlic Vine, Ajo de Monte, cancer