Background: Plants are used as single agents or in combination with one or more other plants in traditional Nigerian medicine to offer relief to patients suffering from various ailments. Owing to the rich medicinal value of phytochemicals, plant-based drugs still remain a safe and cheap alternative to conventional chemotherapeutic agents, radiotherapy and surgery in the fight against cancer. Methodology: Phytochemical screening of the ethanol extracts of Detarium microcarpum stem bark and Securidaca longepedunculata roots were done by using established protocols. Colorimetric methyl tetrazolium assay was used to study the effect of D. microcarpum stem-bark and S.longepedunculata roots extracts on proliferation of MDA-MB231 cells. The effect of a combination of the two extracts on the proliferation of MDA-MB 231 cell lines was assessed using the Chou-Talalay combination index model. Results: Saponins, flavonoids and terpenoids were detected in both plant extracts. The effect of the extracts as single agents, S. longepedunculata and D. microcarpum recorded IC50 values of 247 mg/mL and 113 mg/mL respectively. In assessing the activity of the two extracts on the proliferation of MDA MB 231 cells, acombination index of 0.442 with a parabolic curve indicating synergistic activity was observed. The combined effect of the extracts on MAP kinase /cJNK showed a dose dependent phosphorylation of SAPK/JNK, with subsequent release of mitochondrial cytochrome c into the cytosol. Conclusion: D. microcarpum and S.longepedunculata extracts have antiproliferative properties by synergistically inducing apoptosis in human breast adenocarcinoma MDA MB 231 cells via cJNK activation and mitochondrial cytochrome c release.

{"references": ["Albert B., Bray D., Lewis Jet al. Cancer as microevolutionaryprocess: In molecular biology of cell 3rd edition 2003 pp 1255-73. Garland publishing 29 west 35th street New York USA"]}