Winter wheat hull (husk) is a valuable source for tricin, a potential selective cytotoxic agent

► Identification of a reliable source for the production of the chemopreventive agent, tricin. ► The source consists mainly of the waste by-products of winter wheat. ► An efficient method for the isolation and purification of tricin was designed. ► The purified tricin shows a selective inhibitor action on two different cancer cell lines.