Anti-Cancer Properties of a popular Herbal Medicine Marketed in Nigeria.
Dr. Onyeaghala, A. A1 , Dr. Omotosho, I.O2, Dr, Sivanshankara, AR3 and Dr Ramesh, C4
1, 2
Department of Chemical Pathology University College Hospital and College of Medicine,
University of Ibadan, Ibadan
3
School of Clinical Research, Texila American University.Guyana 4Sigma Institute of Clinical
Research Adm. Pvt Ltd & Sana College of Pharmacy, Hyderabad, India .
Correspondence Email: aonyeaghala@ymail.com
Communicable and Non-communicable diseases have placed a huge burden in all heath
institutions including those in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Cervical cancer is one of the leading
causes of death. It affects mostly women of reproductive age. In spite of several researches,
therapeutic cure for cervical cancer using conventional therapies has been elusive. This has
resulted in the search for alternative therapies using herbal medicine. Yoyo Bitters, a herbal
medicine and combination of medicinal plants is widely consumed with a view to alleviating
various health challenges. Previous studies have tried to elucidate the pharmacological activities
of the product, but none has explored its cytotoxicity on human cervical cancer cells (HeLa).
This study was performed to investigate the cytotoxicity of various chromatographic extracts of
YYB on HeLa cell line.
Pure extracts ( fraction 1, 2 and 3) of the herbal product obtained using Column chromatography
were investigated in vitro on HeLa cells of low passage number using MTT assay.
Characterization and elucidation of compounds were performed using GC-MS, NMR and FTIR.
Half maximal (IC50) of various extracts on HeLa cells were: 35.3µg/ml, 5.6µg/ml and 44.4µg/ml
respectively. The IC50 for fraction 2, (5.6µg/ml) was statistically significant (P= 0.008) when
compared with values obtained from other fractions.
Study showed that pharmacotherapeutic compounds isolated from this herbal product could be
used as anticancer agents against cervical cancer.
Key Words: Cervical Cancer, Cytotoxicity, Herbal Medicine, HeLa cell line, Yoyo Bitters
Presenter Biography:
Dr Augustine Onyeaghala is a Biomedical /Clinical Research Scientist, Lecturer, Quality
Management Systems (QMS) Consultant and Author. His educational and professional
experiences cut across Clinical Laboratory Science, Chemical Pathology, Clinical Research and
Quality Management Systems with great emphases on GCP, GLP, GMP and GCLP quality
assurance. He obtained his Master’s degree in chemical pathology, post graduate diploma in
clinical research and completed his PhD in clinical research from Texila American University,
Guyana, South America. His Doctoral Research thesis was titled: “Isolation, Identification,
Chacterization, Cytotoxicity, Renal and Hepatic Assessment of a Popular Herbal Remedy
Marketed in Nigeria. In his thesis, he established that majority of the compounds identified in
the herbal product were able to exert significant antitumorigenic effects on human cervical
cancer cells (HeLa) of low passage number thus, providing important information that the herbal
product could be a good source of anticancer agents. Several scientific findings which emanated
from the study had since been published in reputable international journals of high impact factor.
His broad goal is to translate the finding into clinical benefits thereby improving the quality of
life of patients with cervical cancer.
Dr Onyeaghala has attended several local and international conferences and workshops on
clinical research, regulatory affairs, quality assurance and research and development of herbal
medicine including those co-organized by the University of Oxford. He is a well-known public
speaker and has presented over 50 scientific papers at both local and international conferences
and workshops discussing clinical research, herbal medicine and GxPs. He is a member of the
West and Central African Faculty of the Global Health Trial Network of the Oxford University,
UK; and has assisted in facilitating several meetings focused on developing herbal medicine
within the Region. His current clinical research interest is in research and development, quality
assurance , pharmacovigilence and clinical trial of herbal medicine using evidence base
approach. He has published a good number of research and scientific papers in local and
international peer reviewed journals.