ABSTRACT

The species Adansonia digitata L is commonly called as baobab belongs to family Bombacaceae. In the present report, we have evaluated the in vitro anticancer activity based on its reported phytoconstituents. The extracts of callus, stem, root, leaf and fruit pulp were obtained using solvents like methanol, hexane and ethyl acetate by Soxhlet extraction method (organic). The in-vitro anticancer activity was evaluated against four human cancer cell lines Colo-205 (Colon cancer cell line), DU-125 (Prostate cancer cell line), MCF-7 (Breast cancer cell line) and HeLa (Cervix cancer cell line) using Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. The cytotoxic potential of DU-125 cell lines was examined, and the results showed that the GI₅₀ value of the methanolic callus, methanolic leaf, hexane leaf, and ethyl acetate leaf extracts was >80 µg/ml. The GI₅₀ values of the leaf extracts in hexane and ethyl acetate were found to be >80 µg/ml on the Colo-205 cell line. For the MCF-7 cell line, methanolic callus extracts GI₅₀ values were noted >80 µg/ml and hexane and ethyl acetate leaf extracts were recorded <80 µg/ml (54.6 µg/ml and 52.6 µg/ml).  Methanolic root and leaf extracts were found to have GI₅₀ values  >80 µg/ml on the HeLa cell lines, while hexane and ethyl acetate leaf extracts had GI₅₀ values of 71.2 µg/ml and 76.2 µg/ml, respectively. These findings introduce A. digitata as potentially useful as anti-cancer agent.

Keywords: Adansonia digitata, Sulforhodamine B, callus, stem, root, leaf, fruit pulp extracts, human cell lines