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Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Rev. Res., 23(1), Nov – Dec 2013; nᵒ 34, 172-179 ISSN 0976 – 044X
International
Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research
Available online at
www.globalresearchonline.net
172
Sreena Raj1, Manon Berthomier2, Merlene Ann Babu1, S Karthikeyan1, A Sivakumar1, K M Gothandam1*
1School of Bio Sciences and Technology, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
2Ecole Nationale Superieure De Chimie De Clermont Ferrand (ENSCCF), Aubiere Cedex, France.
*Corresponding author’s E-mail: gothandam@yahoo.com
Accepted on: 29-08-2013; Finalized on: 31-10-2013.
ABSTRACT
Kerala is endowed with rich biodiversity of medicinal plants which are widely used in various traditional medicinal systems like
Ayurveda which are potential sources of bioactive constituents with effective and safer drugs. The present study is to evaluate the
antibacterial, antioxidant and antiproliferative activity of traditional medicinal plants Biophytum sensitivum (L.) DC, Curculiogo
orchioides Gaertn. and Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. The petroleum ether extract of Curculiogo orchioides showed significant
antibacterial activity against pathogenic strains of bacteria. Among the other extracts methanolic extract of Curculiogo orchioides
showed higher phenolic and flavonoid content and significant DPPH scavenging and reducing power activity. The antiproliferative
activity was tested against Hep G2 (hepatocellular liver carcinoma) in which methanolic extract of Biophytum sensitivum and
Curculiogo orchioides showed strong anticancer activity with an IC50 108.72 and 127.12µg/ml respectively. Our study confirmed the
ethanobotanical and traditional medicinal usage of the three medicinal plants Biophytum sensitivum, Curculiogo orchioides and
Cynodon dactylon.
Keywords: Antibacterial, Antioxidant, Antiproliferative phytochemical analysis, Traditional medicinal plants.
INTRODUCTION
raditional medicines have increasing demand in
developed countries where western medicinal
practices were long been standard. Traditional
medicinal plants are the reservoirs of potential bioactive
molecules. Recently developed 80% synthetic drugs have
a natural compound prototype. The major advantages of
Traditional medicine in comparison to allopathic medicine
are the lesser side effect and cost effectiveness.
Medicinal plants are excellent sources for the discovery of
potential pharmacophores using structural and
combinatorial chemistry. Ayurvedic medicinal system is a
well established medicinal practice in India with a sound
literature background originated approximately 5000
years ago.1 Kerala is famous for its indigenous medicinal
practice, Ayurveda and as the source of several potential
medicinal plants. Dasapushpam constitute of ten
medicinal plants which are culturally and therapeutically
linked to folk of Kerala.2 Science based approach is
required to explore the biodynamic effect of these sacred
plants.
Traditional medicinal plants are endless source for
therapeutic drugs for various ailments like antimicrobial,
anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidants, antiulcer and
so on. Despite tremendous progress in the field of
antibiotics, Infectious diseases are still a major threat to
the mankind. Development of antibiotic resistant strains
adds the severity of the current scenario. Unexplored
plant based antimicrobial agents as enormous scope for
the development of safer and effective therapeutics.3
Oxidative stress can be defined as the imbalance between
the reactive oxygen species and the oxidative defensive
mechanism of the body. Reactive free radicals are
involved in the pathophysiology of various diseases like
cancer, alzheimer’s, cardiovascular diseases and aging
etc.4 Medicinal plants are potential sources for
antioxidant compounds with different physical and
chemical properties and mechanism of action.5 Various
plant derived antioxidants are effective free radical
scavengers which are used combinatorial for the
treatment of various diseases as nutritional
supplements.6 Malignancy is one of the most deadly
diseases that affect human health in the modern world
just below heart disease. About 60% of the
chemotherapeutic drugs developed in recent decades are
from plant origin. Medicinal plants are attractive sources
for novel bioactive compounds having effective
anticancer activity and lesser side effects.7
The present study is to evaluate antibacterial, antioxidant
and antiproliferative activity of Biophytum sensitivum (L.)
DC, Curculiogo orchioides Gaertn. and Cynodon dactylon
(L.) Pers. which are considered to be three important
medicinal plants of Dasapushpam.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Plant collection and extraction
Biophytum sensitivum (BS) and Cynodon dactylon (CD)
whole plant and Curculiogo orchioides (CO) rhizomes
were collected from local medicinal market of Thrissur,
Kerala. The specimens were authenticated by the plant
biotechnology division of VIT University, Vellore. The
samples were washed thoroughly, chopped into small
pieces and shade dried. The samples are pulverized in an
electric blender and the powdered samples are used for
further extraction. Soxhlet extraction was done for each
sample sequentially using the solvents petroleum ether
Antioxidant, Antibacterial and Anti-Proliferative Activity and Phytochemical Analysis of
Selected Medicinal Plants from Dasapushpam of Kerala
T
Research
Article
Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Rev. Res., 23(1), Nov – Dec 2013; nᵒ 34, 172-179 ISSN 0976 – 044X
International
Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Review and Research
Available online at
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173
(PE) dichloromethane (DM), methanol (ME) and aqueous
(AQ) in the increasing order of polarity. All the extracts
were concentrated using rotary evaporator and the
extracts were stored in air tight container until use.
Phytochemical screening
Preliminary phytochemical screening of the four extracts
of Biophytum sensitivum (BS), Cynodon dactylon (CD) and
Curculiogo orchioides (CO) were performed by Trease and
Evans 8 and Harborne.9
Total phenolic content
The total phenolic content was determined by using Folin-
Ciocalteu assay.10 The extracts were oxidized with Folin-
Ciocalteu reagent, and the reaction was neutralized with
sodium carbonate. 50µl of sample or standards were
mixed with 2.5ml of 1:10 diluted Folin-Ciocalteau’s
reagent and to which 2ml of Na2CO3 (7.5% w/v) were
added. The Folin-Ciocalteu reagent is a yellow colored
acid consisting of acid polyhetero rings containing
phosphotungestic acid (H3PM12040) and phophomolybdic
acid (H3PW12040) which would be oxidized by the phenolic
compounds of the extract to form stable blue complex:
molybdene(Mo8023)-tungstene (W8023) which has
maximum absorbance at 760 nm. The total phenolic
content was expressed in terms of mg gallic acid
equivalent per g of extract. Experiments were performed
in triplicates.
Total flavanoid content
Total flavonoids content was determined
spectroscopically by the aluminium trichloride method11
with slight modification using quercitin as standard. 0.5ml
of extracts or standards and 3ml of distilled water were
added to the volumetric flask. 0.3ml of 5% NaNO2 was
added to the flask at zeroth minute. After 5min 0.3ml 10%
AlCl3 and incubated at RT. After 6 minute 2ml of 1M NaOH
were added and the final volume made up to 10ml. The
absorbance was measured at 510 nm and the results
were expressed in mg quercitin equivalent per gram of
extract. Experiments were performed in triplicates.
Antibacterial activity
Microorganism and culture conditions
The bacterial strains used for the study includes:
Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus
coagulans, Bacillus lichenformis, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus
subtilis and Clostridium for Gram positive, Escherichia coli,
Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens for Gram
negative microorganisms. Strains used for the study were
obtained from the National Collection of Industrial
Microorganisms (NCIM), Pune, India, and Microbial Type
Culture Collection (MTCC), Chandigarh, India. All the
microbial strains were revived from glycerol stock at -
80°C. After bringing it at room temperature nutrient
broth was added into the cultural vials. The cultures were
sub-cultured for activity assays in nutrient broth by
incubating at 37°C for 24 hours and stock was prepared
and stored at 4°C.
Antibacterial assay with well diffusion method
The microbial growth inhibitory potential of the extracts
of Biophytum sensitivum (BS), Cynodon dactylon (CD) and
Curculiogo orchioides (CO) were determined by using the
agar well diffusion method.12,13 The pre-inoculated
cultures were made to the turbidity of 0.5 McFarland
standard turbidity (106 CFU/ml) and these bacterial
inoculums were uniformly spread on the media using a
sterile cotton swab. Wells (9mm) were made into the
media using a sterile cork borer. Extracts were dissolved
in 10% DMSO to a final concentration of 1mg/ml. One
hundred microliters of the extracts were transferred into
the well. Kanamycin (10µg/ml) was used as positive drug
control and 10% DMSO was used as solvent control. The
systems were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours and zones of
inhibition were measured in mm after the incubation.
MIC determination
The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the
extracts was determined for the test organisms on which
the plant extracts showed potent antibacterial activity.14
The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration Assay is a
technique used to determine the lowest concentration of
a particular antibiotic needed to kill bacteria. To 2 mL of
nutrient broth was added 1 mL of varying concentration
of the extracts and serially diluted to obtain the following
final concentrations of extracts: 500 mg/L, 250 mg/L, 125
mg/L, 62.5 mg/L, 31.25 mg/L, 15.62 mg/L, 7.81 mg/L, 3.90
mg/L, 1.95 mg/L and 0.097 mg/L. Afterwards, 1mL of the
test organism was introduced to the tubes. A tube
containing nutrient broth only was seeded with the test
organisms as described above to serve as control and
another one was containing only broth to serve as blank.
Tubes containing bacterial cultures were then incubated
at 37°C for 24 hours. The MIC was defined as the lowest
concentration (mg/L) of the extract in the tubes showing
no visible bacterial growth.
Antioxidant activity
DPPH assay
The DPPH assay was performed to determine the free
radical scavenging potential of the extracts15. 1ml of 0.1
mM DPPH in methanol was mixed with 3ml of different
concentrations of extracts and standards. The solution is
mixed vigorously and incubated in darkness for 30min.
The free radical (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) which is
absorbing UV-light at 517 nm will be reduced in the
presence of antioxidant compounds contained in the
extract. This reaction will form a yellow molecule which
will not absorb at the working wavelength. The more
potential the extract is, the higher free radical scavenging
i.e., the lower absorbance at 517 nm is measured.
The percentage of scavenging was calculated as follow:
% Scavenging = (1 – Asample/Acontrol) x 100
Where Asample is the absorbance measured in the presence
of extract and Acontrol is the one measured in absence of
extract.
Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Rev. Res., 23(1), Nov – Dec 2013; nᵒ 34, 172-179 ISSN 0976 – 044X
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Nitric oxide radical scavenging
Nitric oxide scavenging activity of the extracts was
determined using the method of Ebrahimzadeh16 with
slight modification.1ml of 10 mM sodium nitroprusside
was mixed with 1ml of different concentration of extracts
and standards and the mixture was incubated at 37°C for
150min. After incubation 1ml of the mixture was taken
out to which 1ml of Griess’ reagent (1% sulphanilamide
and 0.1% naphthyl ethylene diamine dihydrochloride in
2% o-phosphoric acid) was added and the absorbance
were measured at 546nm. The procedure is based on the
principle that, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) in aqueous
solution at physiological pH spontaneously generates
nitric oxide which interacts with oxygen to produce nitrite
ions. These nitrite ions can react with Griess reagent and
to form a chromophore absorbing at 546 nm. Scavengers
of nitric oxide (present in the extract) compete with
oxygen, leading to decrease in the production of nitrite
ions. The absorbance of the chromophore which was
formed will be measured at 546 nm and will decrease in
presence of extract.
The percentage of scavenging was calculated as follow:
% Scavenging = (1 – Asample/Acontrol) x 100
Where Asample is the absorbance measured in the presence
of extract and Acontrol is the one measured in absence of
extract.
Total antioxidant activity
Total antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined
according to the procedure of Sonia17 with slight
modification. 0.3ml of extracts was mixed with 3ml of the
reagent (0.6 M sulphuric acid, 28 mM sodium phosphate
and 4 mM ammonium molybdate). The tubes were
capped and incubated at 95°C for 90min. After incubation
tubes were cooled and the absorbance was measured at
695nm. The phosphomolybdenum method assay is based
on the reduction of Mo (VI) to Mo (V) by antioxidant
compounds present in the sample and the subsequent
formation of green phosphate/Mo (V) complex at acid pH,
which absorbs at 695 nm. Total antioxidant activity is
expressed as ascorbic acid equivalent/g of extract.
Reducing power assay
The reducing power assays for the extracts were
performed using the method Kalaivani.18 1ml of different
concentrations of extracts was mixed with phosphate
buffer (2.5 ml, 2 M, pH 6.6) and potassium ferricyanide
(2.5 ml, 1%) and the mixture was incubated at 50ºC for 20
min. 2.5 ml of trichloroacetic acid (TCA, 10%) was added
to the mixture which was then centrifuged at 5000rpm
for 15min. The upper layer of solution (2.5 ml) was mixed
with distilled water (2.5 ml) and FeCl3 (0.5 ml, 0.1%), and
the absorbance was measured at 700 nm. Substances,
which have reducing potential, react with potassium
ferricyanide (Fe3+) to form potassium ferrocyanide (Fe2+),
which in turn react with ferric chloride to form ferric
ferrous complex that has an absorption maximum at 700
nm. Thus if the sample has antioxidant properties, the
absorption at 700 nm will increase with the concentration
of extract.
FRAP assay (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power)
The principle of the FRAP assay is that antioxidants
containing in the extract reduce Fe3+/tripyridyltriazine
complex to the blue colored ferrous form, with an
increase in absorbance at 593 nm.19 The reaction mixture
(3ml) was prepared by adding 2.85ml of FRAP reagent
and 0.15ml of extracts and incubated for 30min at 37°C in
the water bath. Absorbance was taken immediately after
incubation at 593nm using acetate buffer as blank.
Standard calibration curve of Fe (II) concentration from
100-1000 µmol/L FeSO4 7H2O was prepared and the
results were expressed as ferric-TPTZ reducing ability
equivalent to that of µmol Fe (II)/ g extract.
Cell culture and treatment
Human cancer cell lines HepG2 (hepatocellular liver
carcinoma) were obtained from National Centre for Cell
Sciences (NCCS), Pune. Cells were maintained in DMEM
media supplemented with 10% FBS 100 U/ml penicillin
and 100 µg/ml streptomycin with 5% CO2 at 37°C in CO2
incubator. The cultured cells were harvested, counted
and used for further assays.
Anti-proliferative activity
The cytotoxicity of the methanolic extracts of Biophytum
sensitivum (BS), Cynodon dactylon (CD) and Curculiogo
orchioides (CO) were measured against human cancer cell
lines (breast cancer), HepG2 (hepatocellular liver
carcinoma) with the MTT (3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,
5-diphenyltetrazolium) assay, MTT assay is based on the
cleavage of a tetrazolium salt by mitochondrial
dehydrogenases in viable cells to form blue formazan
product.20 Hundred microliters of the cell suspension of
5×103 cells/well were seeded into a 96 well plate and
100µl of the extracts at various concentrations (50-300
µg/ml) and positive control (doxorubicin) were added to
the wells and the plates were incubated for 48hr in a CO2
incubator. After the incubation period 20 µl MTT (5
mg/ml) was added to each well and kept for 2 hr
incubation. The insoluble formazan crystals formed were
solubilised by the addition of 100 µl MTT lyses buffer
followed by an incubation of 4 hr and the plates were
read at 570 nm using microtitre plate
spectrophotometer.21,22 The inhibitory rate was
calculated as follows:
Inhibitory rate (Ir) % = 100 – Proliferation rate (Pr)
Proliferation rate (Pr) % = [Abs sample / Abs control] ×
100
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Phytochemical analysis
Preliminary qualitative analysis of the four extracts
confirmed the presence of phyto constituents like tannin,
phenolics, flavanoids, steroids, glycosides, terpenoids,
Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Rev. Res., 23(1), Nov – Dec 2013; nᵒ 34, 172-179 ISSN 0976 – 044X
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and reducing sugar in various extracts of Biophytum
sensitivum. The methanolic extract of Cynodon dactylon,
was rich with wide range of plant compounds like
phenolic, tannin, saponin, flavonoids, terpenoids,
glycosides and sugars. The presence of phenolics, tannin,
steroids, flavonoids, terpenoids and glycosides were
confirmed in the methanolic extract of Curculiogo
orchioides (Table 1).
Table 1: Phytochemical analysis of Biophytum sensitivum, Cynodon dactylon and Curculiogo orchioides
Cynodon dactylon Curculigo orchioides Biophytum sensitivum
PE DM ME AQ PE DM ME AQ PE DM ME AQ
Tannin - - + - - - + - - - + -
Phenol - - + - - - + - - - + -
Saponnin - - + + - - - + - - - +
Flavonoids 1 - - - - - - - - - - - -
2 + + + - - - - - + - - -
3 + + + - - - - - + - - -
Steroids + + - - - - + - - - + -
Alkaloids - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cardiac Glycosides 1 + + + - + + + - + + - -
2 - + + - - + + - + + - -
Terpenoids - - - - - - + - - + - -
Carbohydrates 1 - - + - - - + + - - + -
2
- - - - - - - + - - - -
3
+ - - - - - - - + + - -
Proteins + + - - - - - - - - - -
Reducing sugar + + - - - - - - + + - -
Table 2: Total phenolic and flavonoid content of methanolic extracts of Biophytum sensitivum, Cynodon dactylon and
Curculiogo orchioides.
Methanolic extract Total phenol content (in mg eq. of GA/ g of extract) Total flavonoids content
(in mg of quercitin eq. / g of extract)
Curculigo orchioides 537±2.6 400±5.5
Cynodon dactylon 453±2 186±7.0
Biophytum sensitivum 485±1.7 248±3.1
Table 3: Zone of inhibition of antibacterial activity of Biophytum sensitivum, Cynodon dactylon and Curculiogo orchioides.
Standard CD CO BS
Kanamycin PE ME PE ME ME
Streptococcus pyogenes 13 - - 13 5 7
Staphylococcus aureus 15 - - 10 12 11
Bacillus coagulans 19 6 6 8 6 7
Bacillus licheniformis 12 - - 13 - -
Bacillus cereus 18 - 4 11 - 5
Bacillus subtilis 17 - - 7 - -
Clostridium 14 3 - - - -
Proteus mirabilis 23 6 - 10 - -
Total phenolic and flavanoid content
The total phenolic content of the methanolic extracts
were determined using the linear regression equation of
the gallic acid calibration curve (y=0.0507x-0.269;
R²=0.9812) and then the total phenol content is
expressed as mg equivalent of gallic acid per gram of
extract. The total flavanoid content of the extracts were
expressed as mg of quercitin equivalent per gram of
extract (Table 2). The methanolic extract of Curculiogo
orchioides showed highest flavonoid and phenolic
content, 400±5.5mg quercitin equivalence/g of extract
and 537±2.6mg gallic acid equivalence/g of extract.
Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Rev. Res., 23(1), Nov – Dec 2013; nᵒ 34, 172-179 ISSN 0976 – 044X
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Table 4: Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of methanolic extract of Biophytum sensitivum and petroleum ether
extract of Curculiogo orchioides.
Plant extract Curculigo orchioides, petroleum ether Biophytum sensitivum, methanol
Streptococcus pyogenes 1.95 15.62
Staphylococcus aureus 3.90 7.81
Bacillus coagulans 7.81 15.62
Bacillus cereus 1.95 31.25
Table 5: Total antioxidant and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power assay of methanolic extracts of Biophytum sensitivum,
Cynodon dactylon and Curculiogo orchioides.
Methanol extract mg equivalent ascorbic acid/ g of extract FRAP (µmol Fe(II)/ g of extract
Biophytum sensitivum 22.47±0.5 119±1.1
Curculigo orchioides 38±0.64 45±2.3
Cynodon dactylum 25±0.50 147±3.7
Antibacterial activity
Agar well diffusion method is the widely accepted
method for the evaluation of antibacterial activity of
samples.23 Preliminary screening for the antibacterial
activity of the extracts was performed with various strains
of gram +ve and –ve pathogenic bacterial strains. Among
the four extracts methanolic extracts of three medicinal
plants showed potent inhibition. Petroleum ether extracts
of Cynodon dactylon (CD) and Curculiogo orchioides (CO)
also showed significant inhibition. For the further studies
only the samples which showed positive results were
tested for the antibacterial activity. Among the five
extracts, petroleum extract of Curculigo orchioides
showed best potential activity against the bacterial strains
used. The methanolic extracts of Curculigo orchioides and
Biophytum sensitivum also showed important inhibitory
activity against bacterial cultures. Most effective activity
was exhibited by Curculigo orchioides, petroleum ether
extract against Streptococcus pyogenes and Bacillus
licheniformis with a zone of inhibition of 13mm, which
was almost equivalent to the standard antibiotic (Table
3). The MIC values of the methanolic extract of
Biophytum sensitivum ranged from 7.81 to 31.25 mg/L.
The most significant inhibition of bacterial growth was
shown by petroleum ether extract of Curculiogo
orchioides with an MIC value of 1.95mg/L against
Staphylococcus aureus (Table 4). The major
phytoconstitiuents present in the petroleum ether extract
of Curculiogo orchioides is fatty acids, hence the potential
antibacterial activity against the pathogenic strains shown
by the extract may be attributed to the fatty acids present
in it.24
Antioxidant activity
Free radicals are molecules or atoms that have at least
one unpaired electron which usually increases the
chemical reactivity of the molecule. Free radicals can
react with other molecules to cause cell damage or DNA
mutation.25 Molecules called antioxidants protect against
free radical damage and their action permit to ensure a
balance between production and destruction of free
radicals.26 Antioxidant capacity of the methanolic extracts
of Biophytum sensitivum (BS), Cynodon dactylon (CD) and
Curculiogo orchioides (CO) were evaluated by several
antioxidant assays. DPPH radical scavenging assay shows
that the methanolic extracts of the three plants have
potential antioxidant activity which increases with the
concentration of the extract. Curculiogo orchioides (CO)
seems to be the most potential extract against DPPH
radical with the lowest Effective Concentration which
scavenges 50% radical (EC50) of 23 µg/mL (Figure 1). Nitric
oxide is a major free radical generated in the body during
biological metabolism which is directly involved in the
pathophysiology of various diseases like inflammation
and cancer.27 The methanolic extract of of Biophytum
sensitivum (BS) showed significant nitric oxide scavenging
activity in a dose dependent manner (Figure 2).
The total antioxidant capacity in extract was determined
using the linear equation of the calibration curve (y =
0.0099x + 0.0447; R² = 0.9842) and was expressed as the
number of equivalent of ascorbic acid/g of extract. The
methanolic extract of Curculiogo orchioides (CO) showed
highest total antioxidant capacity of 38 mg equivalent of
ascorbic acid/g of extract (Table 5). The reducing ability of
the extracts is an indicator of potential antioxidant
activity which can terminate the free radical chain
reaction by converting them to stable products.28 The
reducing capacities of the extracts were determined by
reducing power assay and FRAP assay.29 Among the three
plants methanolic extract of Biophytum sensitivum (BS)
showed significant reducing potential in a dose
dependent manner (Figure 3). The increase in the
absorbance indicates the higher reducing power. The
methanolic extract Curculiogo orchioides (CO) showed
highest FRAP antioxidant activity 45 µmol Fe(II)/ g of
extract followed by Biophytum sensitivum (BS) and
Cynodon dactylon (CD), 119 and 147 µmol Fe(II)/ g of
extract respectively (Table 5). Looking back to the
phytochemical results of our extracts, methanolic extract
is the effective solvent for extraction of flavanoid and
Int. J. Pharm. Sci. Rev. Res., 23(1), Nov – Dec 2013; nᵒ 34, 172-179 ISSN 0976 – 044X
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phenolic compounds which is in agreement with results
of Samia30 The total phenolic and flavanoid content of the
methanolic extract of Curculiogo orchioides found to be
higher compared to Cynodon dactylon and Biophytum
sensitivum which correlates to the potential antioxidant
activity of the extract. The plants having higher amount of
polyphenolic compounds like flavanoids and phenolics are
potential free radical scavengers which are effective in
prevention of various diseases.31,32
Figure 1: DPPH radical scavenging assay of methanolic
extracts of Biophytum sensitivum, Cynodon dactylon and
Curculiogo orchioides.
Figure 2: Nitric oxide radical scavenging assay of
methanolic extracts of Biophytum sensitivum, Cynodon
dactylon and Curculiogo orchioides.
Figure 3: Reducing power assay of methanolic extracts of
Biophytum sensitivum, Cynodon dactylon and Curculiogo
orchioides.
Anti-proliferative activity
Even though there is remarkable development in the field
of molecular mechanism of cancer, the development of
chemotherapeutic agents still remains ineffective and
costly.33 Medicinal plants showing potential activity are
important sources of bioactive molecules which can be
developed as potent chemotherapeutic agents.34 The
cytotoxicity of Biophytum sensitivum (BS), Cynodon
dactylon (CD) and Curculiogo orchioides (CO) was
measured against human cancer cell lines HepG2 cells
using the MTT (3-[4, 5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-
diphenyltetrazolium) assay. Different concentrations (50-
250µg/ml) were used for the assay. 10% DMSO was used
as negative control and Doxorubicin as positive control.
Compared with the Cynodon dactylon (CD), methanolic
extract of Biophytum sensitivum and Curculiogo
orchioides showed potent activity in a dose dependent
manner (Figure 4). Methanolic extract showed significant
cytotoxicity activity with an IC50 108.72 and 127.12µg/ml
for Biophytum sensitivum and Curculigo orchioides
respectively at 48hr. Significant amount of phenolic
content were found to be present in the methanolic
extract of Biophytum sensitivum and Curculigo orchioides
which may be involved the anticancer activity of the
extracts. Further studies are required to identify the
potential compounds and their mechanism of action.
Figure 4: Cytotoxicity profile of methanolic extracts of
Biophytum sensitivum, Cynodon dactylon and Curculiogo
orchioides on HepG2 cell line at 48hr.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, methanolic extracts of Biophytum
sensitivum (BS), Cynodon dactylon (CD) and Curculiogo
orchioides (CO) found to be more potential compared to
the other extracts which may be attributed to the high
phenolic and flavanoid content of the extract. Curculiogo
orchioides and Biophytum sensitivum showed significant
antibacterial, antioxidant and anticancer compared to
Cynodon dactylon. Further studies are required to isolate
and characterize the bioactive compounds and their
mechanism of action which may lead to the development
of novel compounds. So, it is anticipated that plants
Biophytum sensitivum Linn and Curculigo orchioides
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178
Gaertn can provide potential bioactive compounds for the
development of new ‘leads’ to combat cancer diseases.
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Source of Support: Nil, Conflict of Interest: None.
