Abstract
Maerua pseudopetalosa (Gilg and Bened.) De Wolf tubers which are used traditionally as antitumor agent in Sudan were subjected to separation by column chromatography technique. Eight fractions were obtained for the ethyl acetate extract and twelve for the ethanolic extract. The ethanolic fractions F8, F9, F11 and F12, with high bioactivity were subjected to further investigations. 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used for assessment of the cytotoxicity. Remarkable cytotoxicity against Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) was shown, for the first time. Actually, the results revealed that F12 is a very promising one with remarkable activity against MCF-7 cell lines (43.51 µg/g at 72 h), high antioxidant activity (91.3% by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and 97% by ABTS) and flavonoid and phenolic contents (11.75 and 20.72 mg/g). Six compounds were detected in F9 (syrngic 11.65 µg/g, sinapic 8 µg/g) and F12 (gallic 88.12 µg/g, caffic 11.1 µg/g, sinapic 38.67 µg/g) which were not recorded in any previous work in the available literature by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Key words: Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) breast cancer, Maerua pseudopetalosa, phenol and flavonoid contents, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, antioxidant activity.
Highlights
The goal of screening medicinal plants is to search for excellent anticancer agent suitable for human malignancies, the aim of this study was to screen tuber fractions with respect to their total phenolic and flavonoid content, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, antioxidant activity in order to find new potential sources of natural anticancer drugs
Phenolic compounds are one of the major chemical classes of plants’ secondary metabolites. They play an important role in the defense of plants against pathogens, diseases, parasites, and predators (Bhattacharyya et al, 2014). They involve in a number of physiological mechanisms such as antioxidant activity
The total phenolic contents in the examined tuber fraction extracts using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent is expressed in term of gallic acid equivalent
Summary
As in many other countries, biodiversity in Sudan is still maintained in some parts, which are known for the presence of so many species that are characterized for their undisputed cure for a large number of diseases (Ibrahim and EL Nure, 2016). The use of plants in medicine is not limited or restricted to any region of the world. It is an old practice in various parts of the globe for both preventive and curative purposes. Dependence on herbs as medicine in the treatment of diseases is an adopted practice by a large proportion of the rural population because of its availability and affordability (Sani et al, 2009)
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