Column chromatography has been used to test the
biochemistry of the plant extract Calomeria amaranthoides on ovarian cancer cells.
The study, published in the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research (JECCR), claims to be the first to demonstrate the potentially advantageous biochemistry exhibited by both the raw plant extract and EPD, an eremophilanolide subtype of alpha-methylene sesquiterpene lactone.
Both were found to have "potent anti-cancer effects against ovarian cancer", the conclusion to the report reads.
The scientists, from the universities of Sydney and Leiden, and the Reinier de Graaf Group of Hospitals in Delft, describe how column chromatography allowed the extracts of C amaranthoides to be fractionated, with these refined samples then tested for cytotoxicity.
Over 24, 48 and 72 hours, the action of the plant extracts on human ovarian cancer cells transplanted into mice was observed, while in healthy cells a kill rate of 20 per cent was recorded.
JECCR describes itself as "a high-quality forum for basic, clinical and translational work in oncology".
