Abstract

PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND IN VITRO ANTICANCER STUDY OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF LEAVES OF AMARANTHUS CRUENTUS LINN. AGAINST COLON CANCER CELL LINE (HCT-116)

*Vithya Sekar and N. Jayshree

ABSTRACT

Objective: The study is aimed at evaluating the anticancer activity of ethanolic extract of leaves of Amaranthus cruentus Linn. against colon cancer cell lines on the basis of its indigenous use and constituents. Method: The ethanolic extract of the leaves of Amaranthus cruentus prepared by using the soxhlet extraction method was subjected to phytochemical analysis to detect the plethora of secondary metabolities present. The total flavonoid content was determined using aluminium chloride colorimeteric method. The in vitro anticancer activity was studied using MTT assay against HCT – 116 (Colon cancer cell line).The toxicity study against normal Vero cell line was also done to determine the selectivity of the extract for inhibiting cancer cells. 5-Fluorouracil was used as standard as it is the first choice of drug for the treatment of colon cancer. Results: The ethanolic extract showed presence of variety of secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, saponins, steroids and proteins. The IC50 value of EEAC was 138±4.24 μg/ml and that of 5-fluorouracil was 32.14±1.58 μg/ml against HCT-116. This indicates that the EEAC has cytotoxic effects comparable with 5-Fluorouracil. The IC50 value of EEAC was 1777±78.25μg/ml and that of 5-fluorouracil was 134.4±5.30 μg/ml against Vero cell line. This showed that the plant produce lesser cytotoxic damage to normal cells compared to standard 5 – Fluorouracil.

Keywords: MTT assay, Vero cell line, HCT-116, Amaranthus cruentus.