Abstract
Background: Citrullus colocynthis L. (C. colocynthis) is commonly known as colocynth. It belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae that is frequently used in alternative medicine in the north of Africa. The aim of the study: the present research was undertaken to investigate the chemical composition, antioxidant, antiproliferative, and antibacterial potentials of C. colocynthis seed extract. Material and methods: the chemical composition of C. colocynthis seed organic extract was characterized using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antioxidant property was carried out using both β-carotene bleaching and DPPH assays. The antibacterial effect was effectuated using the agar disc diffusion method. The antiproliferative activity vs. human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (HT-29) and human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MDA MB 231) were carried by WST-1 test. The chemical analysis showed the presence of interesting potentially bioactive compounds. The studied plant extract exhibited antioxidant potential with IC50 value of 2. 22 mg/mL (β-carotene bleaching) and 8.98 ± 0.619 mg/mL (DPPH). Concerning the antiproliferative activity, the seed extract was effective in MDA-MB-231 and HT-29 cancer cells with IC50 values 86.89 ± 3.395 and 242.1 ± 17.9 μg/mL, respectively, whilst the extract of Citrullus colocynthis seeds was non-toxic in healthy human dermal fibroblasts. Regarding the antibacterial test, the extract was effective in Gram-positive bacteria only. Conclusion: The outcome of this research indicated that the extracts from C. colocynthis seeds may compose a promising source with interesting compounds that can be used to fight cancer, free radicals damage, and bacterial infections.
Highlights
Plants have populated the planet for millions of years and have served humans and animals to meet their nutritional and medicinal requirements
The nutritional composition of C. colocynthis seeds was investigated in earlier works by Milovanovicand Picuric-Jovanovic (2005), who reported that the dry weight of seeds consisted of testa and kernel with 52.3% and 47.7%, respectively; the moisture content was found at 54.5%; the oil content ranged from 22.1–53.5%; the protein content was 21.8%; and the fatty acid content in the oilseed consisted of a majority of unsaturated fatty acid (77.4%), including linoleic (18:2) acid (62.2%) [18]
The current research work was undertaken to study the phytochemical composition, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiproliferative potentials of C. colocynthis seeds since no previous work has investigated the pharmacological activities of seeds from C. colocynthis growing in the north of Morocco up to this date
Summary
Plants have populated the planet for millions of years and have served humans and animals to meet their nutritional and medicinal requirements. Their uses have largely evolved with the discovery of their therapeutic properties [1]. Civilizations have reported potential pharmacological activities of C. colocynthis. It has traditionally been used in the treatment of a bundle of diseases such as cough, constipation, leprosy, diabetes, asthma, and toothache [11,12]. The current research work was undertaken to study the phytochemical composition, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antiproliferative potentials of C. colocynthis seeds since no previous work has investigated the pharmacological activities of seeds from C. colocynthis growing in the north of Morocco up to this date
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