Phytochemical Characterization, Antioxidant Activity, and Cytotoxicity of Methanolic Leaf Extract of Chlorophytum Comosum (Green Type) (Thunb.) Jacq.

Svetlana S Avanesyan,Andrey A Nagdalian,Alexei A Terentiev,Wolf D Grimm,Stanislav G Kochergin,Natalya V Filatova,Maria A Kozlova,Aleksander V Kalinin,Marina N Sizonenko,Maria M Trigub,Lyudmila D Timchenko,Igor V Rzhepakovsky,Sergei I Piskov,Vladimir P Kurchenko,David A Areshidze

doi:10.3390/molecules27030762

Abstract

Chlorophytum genus has been extensively studied due to its diverse biological activities. We evaluated the methanolic extract of leaves of Chlorophytum comosum (Green type) (Thunb.) Jacques, the species that is less studied compared to C. borivilianum. The aim was to identify phytoconstituents of the methanolic extract of leaves of C. comosum and biological properties of its different fractions. Water fraction was analyzed with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. Nineteen compounds belonging to different chemical classes were identified in the methanolic extract of leaves of C. comosum (Green type) (Thunb.) Jacques. In addition to several fatty acids, isoprenoid and steroid compounds were found among the most abundant constituents. One of the identified compounds, 4′-methylphenyl-1C-sulfonyl-β-d-galactoside, was not detected earlier in Chlorophytum extracts. The water fraction was toxic to HeLa cells but not to Vero cells. Our data demonstrate that methanolic extract of leaves of C. comosum can be a valuable source of bioactive constituents. The water fraction of the extract exhibited promising antitumor potential based on a high ratio of HeLa vs. Vero cytotoxicity.

Highlights

Chlorophytum comosum belongs to the genus Chlorophytum that covers more than 200 species [1,2,3]
The residual compounds detected by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) comprised less than 9% in total
A number of compounds that were identified in the methanolic extract of leaves of Chlorophytum comosum (Green type) have been well characterized

Summary

Introduction

Chlorophytum comosum belongs to the genus Chlorophytum that covers more than 200 species [1,2,3]. Due to its long use in history in traditional medicine, the Chlorophytum genus has drawn the attention of researchers in evidence-based medicine. Most studies have been performed in vitro with the use of herbal extracts, their fractions or purified constituents. Butanol extract of C. comosum roots was shown to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis in four cell lines, mostly of hematological origin. Crude methanol/dichloromethane extract and butanol (saponin) fraction of methanolic extract of C. borivilianum roots have been demonstrated to have relatively low toxicity with IC50 > 100 mkg/mL to three solid tumor cell lines [22]. Similar data were obtained for promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells treated with methanolic extracts or saponin fractions of roots of five Chlorophytum species [4]

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Discussion

Conclusion