Potential of radioiodinated anti cancer compounds of natural origin for cancer therapy

Plumbagin and Quercetin are naturally occurring compounds which exhibit anti-cancerous activity. To evaluate the effect of radioiodination on cytotoxicity, both Plumbagin and Quercetin were radioiodinated with I-125. I-125-Plumbagin and I-125-Quercetin could be prepared in moderate yields and good radiochemical purity and were characterized using reverse phase HPLC. In Swiss mice bearing fibrosarcoma, I-125-Plumbagin showed a tumor uptake of similar to 2.5%ID/g at 3 h p.i. and similar to 0.5%ID/g at 24 h p.i. on i.v. injection. When injected intratumorally, greater tumor uptake and retention was observed (similar to 20%ID/g at 3 h p.i. and similar to 14%ID/g at 24 h p.i. respectively).