Imperata cylindrica, also known as thatch grass, is a perennial tufted tall grass and commonly found throughout the Indian subcontinent, Southeastern Asia, and the subtropics of Africa and Australia (Parvathy et al. 2012). It is used as an anti-inflammatory and diuretic in traditional Indian medicine or Ayurveda. The plant has also been known as an important antioxidant and immunomodulator (Pinilla and Luu 1999; Pragya et al. 2015). The extract of I. cylindrica has significant apoptotic and cell proliferation inhibition activity (Kuete et al. 2013). In another study by Keshava et al. (2016), the methanolic leaf extract of I. cylindrica has caused morphological changes in oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line SCC-9 in a concentration-dependent manner. The leaf extract has cytotoxic effect only on SCC-9 carcinoma cells and not on normal cells. The plant’s potential as anticancer agent is further established by significant anti-clonogenic activity in this in vitro study. DNA 7 and arrest of cell cycle at G2/M phase, characteristic features of anticancer therapeutic agents, have been observed in leaf extract of I. cylindrica. Since the plant is easily available in most parts of the world, it should be explored more for its therapeutic potential against oral squamous cell carcinoma.
