Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Screening of Potential Anticancer Agents

Abstract

The documented evidence of using plants as medicines dates to about 5000 years back in India, where evidence of infonnation about using poppy plant, henbane and mandrake as medicines was found on a clay slab (Kelly, 2009). Around 2500 BC Chinese Emperor Shen Nung circa, in his ancient literature writes about evidences of healing propelties of plants. A book "De Causis Plantarum," written by the father of botany Theophrastus, described and classified hundreds of medicinal plants that were being used as medicine. The Roman Empire credited the medicinal value of plants and documented many books on them. The work of Roman Empire was carried forward by Muslim scholars during the Islamic era and wrote many books on this subject. All these ancient literature regarding the healing propelties of plants were further advanced with Carl Lilmaeus's classification system that he explained in his book "Species Plantarum"(Ashraf, 2020).