eng Oriental Scientific Publishing Company Biomedical and Pharmacology Journal 0974-6242 2026-08-04 19 3 72940 article Nguyen Quoc Chau Thanh 1 Nguyen ThuyTuong Anh 3 Pham Quynh Chi 4 Vuong Thi Huyen Trang 5 College of Natural Sciences, Can Tho University, Can Tho City, Vietnam Bioassay Laboratory, CTU Hi-tech Building, Can Tho University, Can Tho City, Vietnam Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, Heather Street, Vancouver, Canada Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, Hanoi, Vietnam Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam Carcinomas of the cervix and colon remain a major global health burden, and plant-derived agents continue to be a valuable source of cytotoxic compounds with favorable safety profiles toward normal cells. The aerial parts of wild-grown Nepenthes mirabilis (Lour.) Druce were collected on Phu Quoc Island (Kien Giang Province, Vietnam) in June 2024 and extracted with methanol. This carnivorous pitcher plant is used in Vietnamese folk medicine but had not previously been assessed for cytotoxic potential. The extract was screened against four human carcinoma cell lines (HeLa and C-33A, cervical; HepG2, hepatocellular; HT-29, colorectal) and the non-malignant HEK293 line over 24 and 48 h, with cell viability measured by the CCK-8 assay. Preliminary phytochemical screening indicated a flavonoid-rich extract. On HeLa cells, half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) were 151.35 µg/mL at 24 h and 158.49 µg/mL at 48 h, corresponding to selectivity index (SI) values of 1.86 and 1.26 relative to HEK293. HT-29 cells responded only after 48 h, with an  of 141.25 µg/mL (SI = 1.41). By contrast, the extract discriminated poorly between the C-33A and HepG2 lines and HEK293 (SI ≤ 1). On HEK293, IC50 values were 281.84 µg/mL at 24 h and 199.53 µg/mL at 48 h. Colorimetric analysis showed that the dried extract was abundant in phenolics (538.20 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids (367.08 mg QE/g). These data constitute the first demonstration that N. mirabilis exerts selective in vitro cytotoxicity toward cervical and colorectal carcinoma cells, positioning this Vietnamese pitcher plant as a worthwhile candidate for further fractionation and mechanistic study. https://biomedpharmajournal.org/vol19no3/anticancer-activity-of-nepenthes-mirabilis-methanol-extract-against-human-carcinoma-cell-lines/ Anticancer Carcinoma Nepenthes mirabilis Selectivity index