Antiproliferative, Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Activities of Clematis gouriana Roxb. Extracts

Abstract

Clematis gouriana Roxb ex DC. (Ranunculaceae) is a large vine capable of climbing tall trees. In the Indian system of medicine ‘Ayurveda’, the plant is used to eliminate malarial fever and headaches. The root and stem paste are applied externally to treat psoriasis, itches, and skin allergies. Diverse biological properties of Clematis species are due to many secondary metabolites found in different parts of the plant. In the present study, C. gouriana leaf extract showed significant antioxidant, hepatoprotective and antiproliferative properties as compared to a standard compound, silymarin. The LD50 values of methanolic and aqueous leaf extracts were 500 and 700 mg/kg body weight, respectively. Both extracts significantly reduced CCl4-induced liver toxicity. The aqueous leaf extract decreased the levels of LPO and POX but increased the activities of SOD and CAT. Compared to ascorbic acid, which showed 97.28% inhibition against DPPH radical scavenging activity, the methanolic and aqueous extracts at 120 and 100 μg/ml concentrations showed 50.03 and 92.61% inhibition, respectively. Relative to the control drug doxorubicin (Adriamycin), the methanolic and aqueous extracts at any concentration (10–80 μg/ml) were unable to reduce the cytotoxicity of human colon cancer cell line HT29 or the human breast cancer cell line MCF7 when employing the sulforhodamine B assay.