In vitro Antioxidant and Anticancer Properties of Active Compounds from Methanolic Extract of Pteris multifida Poir. Leaves

Abstract

Aims: To isolate pure compounds from the methanolic fraction obtained from successive fractionation of defatted ethanolic extract and evaluate in vitro antioxidant and anticancer activity of the crude ethanolic extract, methanolic fraction and pure compounds isolated from methanolic fraction from leaves of Pteris multifida Poir. Study Design:  Isolation and identification of the compounds, evaluation of antioxidant and anticancer activity on cervical cancer cell line (HeLa), lung carcinoma cell line (NCI-H460) and breast carcinoma cell line (MCF-7). Place and Duration of Study: Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City and School of Biotechnology, International University, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, between December 2012 and September 2013. Methodology: The crude ethanolic leaf extract and methanolic fraction obtained from successive fractionation of defatted ethanolic extract from Pteris multifida leaves were prepared. The isolated compounds from methanolic fraction were identified using different spectroscopic techniques. Antioxidant activity of the samples was evaluated by using the stable free radical 2, 2- diphenyl picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay was exploited for determination of anticancer activity against three selected human cancer cell lines: HeLa, NCI-H460 and MCF-7. Results: Two main compounds were isolated from methanolic fraction obtained from successive fractionation of defatted ethanolic extract: rutin (1) and apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2). The crude ethanolic leaf extract showed weak antioxidant activity (IC50 = 89.84 µg/mL) whereas the methanolic fraction expressed quite strong antioxidant activity (IC50 = 21.9 µg/mL). Rutin (1) showed a good ingredient of antioxidant activity with IC50 value of 37.70 ± 0.03 µg/mL. Crude ethanolic leaf extract had cytotoxic activity against HeLa and NCI-H460 cell lines while the methanolic fraction had cytotoxic activity against HeLa, NCI-H460 and MCF-7 cell lines. Apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2) had strong anticancer activity against MCF-7 cell line with IC50 = 22.62 ± 0.59 µg/mL.  Conclusion: The crude ethanolic leaf extract and its methanolic fraction of P. multifida showed the potential activity in antioxidant and anticancer activity. Rutin had a potent antioxidant activity while apigenin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside had a strong anticancer activity against the human breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7.