ABSTRACT
Total five plants, three from Mizoram (Dillenia pentagyna, Ageratum conyzoides, Blumea lanceolaria) and two from Meghalaya (Potentilla fulgens, Taxus baccata) were studied for their antitumour activity against murine ascites Dalton's lymphoma (DL) in vivo. Only three plants showed the different magnitude of antitumour activity. Out of these three plants, the antitumour activity was maximally observed with the methanol extract of the stem bark of D. pentagyna as compared to the aqueous extract of the roots of A. conyzoides and aqueous extract of the root of P. fulgens. An increase in glutathione levels in Dalton's lymphoma cells was observed during tumour growth. Changes in glutathione and protein levels were also investigated in the liver and Dalton's lymphoma cells of tumour-bearing mice following the treatment with the extract of D. pentagyna which showed the highest antitumour activity as compared to the other two plant extracts. Glutathione in the liver and DL cells of treated tumour-bearing mice was found to be decreased. The protein concentration in liver and DL cells decreased mainly at 96 hr of treatment. It may be concluded that the natural product of D. pentagyna promises to be more active against Dalton's lymphoma than others and the decrease in glutathione level may be one of the important steps in resulting this antitumour effect.