Abstract
Objective: Alysicarpus monilifer (Family Papilionaceae) has been used in the Indigenous system of medicine in tumor removal. The present study was designed to isolate and identify the constituent responsible for cytotoxic (anti-tumor) effects of the plant Alysicarpus monilifer.
 Methods: The plant was powdered and extracted to give a methanolic extract. Initially, Hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanolic fractions of the methanolic extract of the plant were subjected to cytotoxic screening using cell line based assay (MTT assay and NRU assay). The chloroform fraction showed significant cytotoxicity, so it was further subjected to column chromatography, to separate the cytotoxic phytoconstituent. The cell lines selected were breast cancer cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468) and Liver cancer cells (HepG2 and HLE cell). Results were calculated as percentage growth inhibition with respect to untreated (control) cells versus treated cells.
 Result: A triterpene, Betulinic acid, was isolated from the aerial parts of Alysicarpus monilifer. The cytotoxic activity of the identified compound against MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, HLE and HepG2 cells was also found to be highly significant with 90% growth inhibition.
 Conclusion: The triterpene was identified to be betulinic acid, to which the cytotoxic activity can be attributed. It is a first report of isolation of betulinic acid from the Alysicarpus species.
Highlights
Alysicarpus monilifer L.(DC.) (Papilionaceae), commonly known as Juhi ghas (Hindi) or Samervo (Gujarati), is a turf forming legume [1, 2]
The direct methanolic extract of A. monilifer was investigated for cytotoxic activity against four cancer cell lines
The results indicated the plant possessed very highly significant (p
Summary
Alysicarpus monilifer L.(DC.) (Papilionaceae), commonly known as Juhi ghas (Hindi) or Samervo (Gujarati), is a turf forming legume [1, 2]. The plant has been used in indigenous system of medicine as an antidote to snake bite [4, 5], anti-inflammatory and in stomach-ache 1. The leaves are used in jaundice and in fever [6, 7]. It is used as a diuretic, in tumor removal and in skin diseases [8,9,10,11]. Methanolic extracts of aerial parts of A. monilifer demonstrated promising analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity [16, 17]. Karthikeyan (2017) demonstrated the prominent anti-diabetic activity of A. monilifer streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats [18]
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