Abstract
Many developing countries depend on herbal mixtures as the first line and cost-effective therapy for malaria. These mixtures with such curative tendencies may also be a source of toxicity to host cells. On the other hand, these mixtures may have anticancer potential activity characterized by cytotoxicity to cancer cells. The aim of the study was to determine the cytotoxic and antioxidant effects of five different antimalarial herbal mixtures. Five antimalarial herbal mixtures commonly used in Ghana (coded as STF, SMH, SMM, SGM, and STT) were purchased and freeze-dried. The dried samples were tested on human acute T-cell leukemia (Jurkat) and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cell lines. Cytotoxicity was assessed using the tetrazolium-based colorimetric (MTT) assay while antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH free-radical scavenging assay. Among the mixtures, SMM and SGM exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity towards Jurkat cells (IC50 values 59.17 μg/ml and 49.57 μg/ml, respectively), whereas STT showed the weakest cytotoxicity (IC50 = 244.94 μg/ml). Cytotoxic effect of SMM was also strongest towards MCF-7 cells whilst the least cytotoxic sample was SGM (IC50 > 1000 μg/ml). SMM had the highest antioxidant percentage (EC50 = 1.05 mg/ml). The increasing order of antioxidant percentage among the five herbal mixtures is SMM > SMH > STT > STF > SGM. The herbal mixtures may be potential sources of toxic agents to host cells. Therefore, further toxicity studies must be performed to safeguard health of the public. Interestingly, cytotoxicities exhibited by SMM and SGM suggest the presence of anticancer constituents in them which warrant further studies.
Highlights
Numerous strategies have been adopted to control the incidence of malaria; an estimated 216 million cases of malaria were recorded worldwide in 2017, with 445,000 deaths
90% of all malaria deaths occur in Africa [1]. e resistance of the Plasmodium parasite to the available antimalarial drugs is a major challenge to the control of malaria [2]
Where A0 is the mean absorbance of wells with untreated cells, A1 is the absorbance of test wells, and B is the absorbance of blank wells. e concentration of the test sample that resulted in 50% decrease in the cell number, i.e., 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50), as compared with that of the control cultures was determined
Summary
Numerous strategies have been adopted to control the incidence of malaria; an estimated 216 million cases of malaria were recorded worldwide in 2017, with 445,000 deaths. E resistance of the Plasmodium parasite to the available antimalarial drugs is a major challenge to the control of malaria [2]. Chloroquine was the drug of choice in Ghana and other endemic African countries for treatment of uncomplicated malaria caused by P. falciparum, the parasite responsible for most malaria cases. Artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) are currently the drugs of choice for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Ghana. E majority of the population in many developing countries, where malaria is endemic, depends on herbal mixtures as therapy for malaria [6, 7]. This study sought to determine the cytotoxic effect of five different commonly used antimalarial herbal mixtures sold on the Ghanaian market on cultured human cell lines
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