Methanolic root peel extract of Potentilla fulgens L. shows anti-proliferative activity on root meristematic cells of Lathyrus sativus L. and antiamoebic activity on trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica

Abstract

Native inhabitants of North-East India traditionally use Potentilla fulgens as a folk remedy for various diseases, including intestinal parasitic infections. P. fulgens root extract is enriched with catechin, afzelechin, fulgic acid and gallic acid like anticancer compounds. The cytotoxicity of P. fulgens root extract was confirmed on various human cancer cell lines. The potency of plant-based assay systems is increasingly apparent for the primary screening of plant extracts with cytotoxic effects. Various anti-proliferative activity assays utilizing the cell cycle attributes of Lathyrus sativus have been studied against different anticancer drugs and plant extracts. However, further validation of those plant extracts' cytotoxicity on human cancer cells is required for benchmarking plant-based assay system with classical methods based on malignant cells. Here, we have shown the effect of P. fulgens methanolic root extract on L. sativus root tip cells to revalidate the assay system. A significant reduction in the mitotic index was observed upon treatment of the L. sativus seeds with the plant extract. The extract caused reversion of colchicine induced polyploidy of L. sativus root cells comparably with anticancer drug cisplatin. Additionally, in silico interaction studies of catechin with the human DNMT1, anticancer drug target, and plant MET1 enzyme were performed. Our result showed that crucial residues important for catechin binding were conserved in the orthologs despite of their evolutionary divergence. This study also revealed that the treatment of 700 μg/ml of methanolic extract retarded the growth of Entamoeba histolytica by 60 % with a change in trophozoite shape compared to control indicated potential antiamoebic activity of the extract.