RISE AFNNET FELLOWS CONFERENCE 15TH FEB.2012,KAMPALA UGANDA.

Dr.Ochwang'i Dominic,

Department of Veterinary Anatomy&Physiology,

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,

University of Nairobi, Kenya

Project title

IN-VITRO PHARMACOPHYSIOLOGICAL ANTI-CANCER POTENTIAL OF MEDICINAL PLANTS USED IN KAKAMEGA COUNTY,KENYA.

University Supervisors

Dr. Charles Kimwele, PhD

Dept. Of Vet.Anatomy and PhysiologyDr.Jemimah Oduma,PhD

Dept. Of Vet.Anatomy and PhysiologyProf.P.K.Gathumbi,PhD

Dept. Of Vet.Pathology,Parasitology and Microbiology

Prof.Stephen G. Kiama, PhD

Dept. Of Vet.Anatomy and Physiology.

Anand et al.,2008

Hallmarks of Cancer

Account for 13% of all deaths yearly(invasive cancer),7.6 million people died; most common:

Lung cancer 1.4 million deathsStomach cancer 74,00 deathsLiver cancer 700,000 deathsColorectal cancer 610,000 deathsBreast cancer 460,000 deathsHalf of the cases in the developing world50 Kenyans die daily from various cancers,80,000 cases

diagnosed each year.

Epidemiology of cancer

WHO,2010,Jemal A,et al 2011

Holland and James,2007,Vickers A ,2004

Current treatment regimes

Typhonium flagelliforme (Mohan et al, 2008)Murraya koenigii(Syam et al 2011) Catharanthus roseus which yields vinblastine

and vincristine(Lucy and Edgar 1999)Vitex doniana, Flueggea virosa,

Ovariodendron anisatum, Launea cornuta, Grewia villosa, Maytenus obscura and Prunus africana(Kareru et al, 2007).

Identify and document anti-cancer medicinal plants used in Kakamega County, Kenya

Objective of study

Justification

Vicker,2004

Methodology

Butere, Mumias, Matungu, Khwisero, Shinyalu, Lurambi, ikolomani, Lugari and Malava

Study area

Data collection

Data collection32 consenting traditional herbal medical practitioners were interviewed.Herbalists were randomly selected from

Kakamega county.

Results 66 plants belonging to 59 genera and 32

families were cited.Most commonly cited plant species were

Spathodea campanulata P.Beauv.ssp.nilotica(Seem), Microglossa pyrifolia (Lam.) Kuntze, Harungana madagascariensis Lam.ex poir, Prunus africana(Hook.f.)kalkman, Cyphostemma serpens(A.Rich) and Aloe spp.

Commonest plant families documented for treatment of cancer (Table 1a)

Commonest plant families documented for treatment of cancer (Table 1b)

ConclusionsThe findings of study show that a variety of

medicinal plants are used in management and treatment of cancer .

The main mode of administration is oral.Many medicinal plants are taken as a

concoction.

Pending workExtract preparationBrine shrimp lethality test9

Meyer et al 1982,Nguta et al 2011)

Invitro physiological tests using human cell lines

MTT assay(Ghavami et al 2010)

Antifungal MIC Test (Ghavami et al, 2010)

Hemolytic Assay (Ghavami et al 2010, Bock and Muller,1994)

Apoptosis induction assays(Machana et al,2011) which include:

a)Nuclear staining with DAPI fluorescent dye

b) DNA fragmentation detection assay

c) Alkylating activity assayPhytochemistry.

Acknowledgement: Carnegie Corporation of New York Regional Initiative in Science and Education- African Natural Product Training Network(RISE-AFNNET) for funding.Mr.Mutiso,Mr.Mugweru, Kakamega herbalists and my supervisors.