Frequently Asked Questions

Why must a selectivity index be reported alongside an anticancer IC50 value?

Why must a selectivity index be reported alongside an anticancer IC50 value? A low IC50 alone does not establish that a compound is safe or clinically useful, since many cytotoxic substances kill both cancerous and healthy cells indiscriminately; the selectivity index directly quantifies the therapeutic margin between cancer-cell and normal-cell toxicity, and its absence is one of the most common reasons a herbal anticancer manuscript is returned for revision.

Is traditional use of a plant sufficient evidence of its safety for modern biological testing? Traditional use provides valuable preliminary evidence of tolerability at the doses and preparations historically employed, but it does not substitute for formal toxicological evaluation, particularly where a research programme intends to use a concentrated extract, an isolated constituent, or a route or duration of administration that differs from traditional practice.