100 – Three alkaloids as selective destroyers of the proliferative capacity of cancer cells

IRCS Med. Sci., 12, 1984, pp. 587-588

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ABSTRACT: Most of the anti-cancer drugs at present used in cancer chemotherapy exhibit tissue toxicity and cause severe damage to harmatopoietic cells. In addition, they are mutagenic and/or carcinogenic in animals and in plants. Using the Oncotest, we have selected three alkaloïds, alstonine, serpentine and sempervirine that possess the capacity to sistinguish in vitro between DNAs isolated from cancerous and healthy mammalian and plant tissues. They bind to the initiation sites of destabilized cancer DNA synthesis, without affecting that of DNAs from healthy tissues. Here we demonstrate that each of the three alkaloïds, which remain inactive against normal eukaryotic cells, selectively and completely destroys the proliferative potential of various established cancer cell lines maintained in and in vitro culture.