In vitro anti-proliferative and antioxidant studies on Devil's Club Oplopanax horridus.

Devil's Club, Oplopanax horridus (OH), is a widely used folk medicine in Alaska and British Columbia for treating a variety of ailments including arthritis, fever and diabetes. HPLC profiling shows that numerous compounds are present in the 70% ethanolic extract of OH dry root bark powder. OH extract inhibited K562, HL60, MCF7 and MDA-MB-468 cell growth with the 50% inhibition (IC(50)) estimated at 1/2700, 1/1700, 1/500 and 1/2500 dilutions, respectively. Non-cytotoxic concentrations (