Abstract
Traditional medicine is widely used in the treatment and management of various ailments due to its low toxicity, low number of side effects and low cost. Many components of common fruits and vegetables play crucial roles as chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agents. This study aimed to evaluate in vitro the antioxidant, cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities of Launaea mucronata’s methanolic stems and leaves extract. In this screening study, Launaea mucronata’s methanolic extracts showed remarkably antifungal activity against Candida albicans. The maximum zone of inhibition of the methanolic extract of Launaea mucronata leaves was detected against Proteus vulgaris with inhibition zones of 17.8 mm and 14.6 mm, respectively. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay results showed high antioxidant activity for the extract almost comparable to that of ascorbic acid at 30 µg/ml, which indicates that it might potentially be developed into a successful antioxidant agent. Meanwhile, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was performed by screening the extract against HepG2 (Hepatocellular), A549 (Lung), HCT116 (Colon) and MCF7 (Breast) cancer cells and it was found that the extract exerted its highest activity against A549 cells with an IC50 value of 14.9 µg/ml. The extracts also shown lower cytotoxic activity against normal, healthy MRC-5 cells, with IC50 values of 204.83 g/ml for the stem extract and 412.4 g/ml for the leaves extract, respectively. This suggests that the extract is safe for normal, healthy cells, which is an important characteristic of any possible anticancer treatment. The antiproliferative and apoptosis activities of our selected plant showed that the extracts induced S-phase arrest and apoptosis in A549 cells. This high cytotoxic activity of the extract indicates that highly bioactive pure compounds could potentially be isolated from the extract in future studies and further developed into an anticancer agent specifically against lung cancer. Therefore, the current study has proven the potential of Launaea mucronata’s methanolic extract as a source of potent antioxidant and anticancer agent.
Highlights
Natural products serve as a source of lead compounds that can be used in the process of drug discovery (Atanasov et al, 2021)
The hydrogen peroxide scavengers’ assay was carried out on the concentration ranges from 0-200 11.74 μg/ml. the results show that IC50 of methanolic extract of leaves, stem and butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT) is >200 μg/ml, 70.91 μg/ml and 11.74 μg/ml, respectively
It was found that the leaf extract showed antifungal activity against Candida albicans with comparable minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value in compared to the positive control ketoconazole, which indicates that this extract could possess a promising antifungal activity
Summary
Natural products serve as a source of lead compounds that can be used in the process of drug discovery (Atanasov et al, 2021). The genus Lacunae belongs to the largest and most common family of flowering plants known as Asteraceae, plant members that belong to this genus are widely distributed around the world, especially in the South Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia (Samia et al, 2000; Michel et al, 2020). It grows mainly in saline, sandy and dry habitats. Launaea mucronata is a species that belong to the genus Launaea and is characterized by having a dichotomously branched blue stem and long leaves (grey-green) (Mansour et al, 1983; Zidorn et al, 2007)
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