Patent ID: 6923993

Claim:
A process of isolating purified fraction from a Euphorbia obesa plant, comprising: preparing a sample of said plant by: rinsing said plant with water, removing and discarding root, outer cortex, and latex material of the plant, thereby forming the sample from the remaining material of the plant comprised substantially of a bulb portion of the plant; dissolving said sample with a first solvent comprising methanol and chloroform to form a solution; separating said solution into an aqueous upper layer and an aqueous pulp-like lower layer; isolating the aqueous pulp-like lower layer from the aqueous upper layer; exchanging the first solvent for a second solvent comprising a solvent chosen from the group consisting of dimethylsulfoxide, methanol, or hexane:chloroform; and purifying said pulp fraction to produce a purified fraction which induces apoptosis and inhibits growth of a cancerous cell.