Abstract
Leptadenia pyrotechnica Forssk is a traditional medicinal herb used for treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer. In this research, the aqueous ethanolic crude extract of Leptadenia pyrotechnica aerial parts, along with its ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water partitioning fractions were evaluated for their antioxidant capacity, polyphenolic content, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. The total antioxidant capacity was estimated by the FRAP, DPPH, ABTS and β-carotene bleaching assays.The ethyl acetate fraction exhibited the highest polyphenolic content (252.27 mg gallic acid/g) and the best antioxidant activity (1.2, 0.57, 0.45 mmol ascorbic acid equivalent/g in the FRAP, ABTS and DPPH assays, respectively). Furthermore, the same extract showed appreciable anti-inflammatory via lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitory activity (IC50 = 1.41 µg/mL). Moreover, the ethyl acetate fraction also showed the strongest cytotoxic effect (IC50 = 43.16 µg/mL) against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. These results suggest that this plant may be considered an interesting source of compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties for therapeutic, nutraceutical and functional food applications.
Highlights
Plants still represent a large source of structurally novel compounds that might serve as leads for the development of novel drugs, nutraceuticals and functional foods
The ethyl acetate fraction showed the strongest cytotoxic effect (IC50 = 43.16 μg/mL) against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. These results suggest that this plant may be considered an interesting source of compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties for therapeutic, nutraceutical and functional food applications
The crude ethanol extract was found to contain five of these six compounds, with epicatechin, vanillic acid, quercetin-3-β-Dglucoside being the highest in concentration (8.76, 7.03, 4.53 mg/g extract, respectively). transcinnamic acid was not detected in the crude extract, probably because it fell below the detection limit of the method
Summary
Plants still represent a large source of structurally novel compounds that might serve as leads for the development of novel drugs, nutraceuticals and functional foods. Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forssk.) Decne, belonging to the family of Asclepiadaceae, is widespread in tropical Africa, Asia and the Mediterranean region and in the sandy plains in the Western Gulf countries. It is being cultivated in forests, farms and on the sides of roads [3,4]. It has been reported to have hypolipidemic and anti-atherosclerotic effects [7] as well as antitumor activity [8]. To date, this anti-inflammatory property is well documented and it would be interesting to learn whether this activity is mediated by inhibition of lipoxygenase activity. The cytotoxic activity was evaluated using the in vitro MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenylformazan) assay on the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line
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