BRINE SHRIMP LETHALITY BIOASSAY OF ABRUS PRECATORIUS (LINN) LEAVES AND ROOT EXTRACT

Abstract

Objective: The present study was conducted to test for in vivo Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay (BSLA) of Abrus precarious leaves and root extracts after successive maceration in four solvents (n-hexane, dichloromethane (DCM) ethyl acetate and methanol) and correlate cytotoxicity results with known pharmacological activities of the plant. Methods: Cytotoxicity was evaluated in terms of LC 50 (lethality concentration), 10 nauplii were added into three replicates of each concentration of the plant extracts, and after 24 h the surviving brine shrimp larvae were counted, and LC 50 was assessed. Results: Potent cytotoxicity was found for both the leaves and root extracts of Abrus precatorius, results showed a concentration dependent increment in mortality rate of the brine shrimp nauplii and the n-hexane and dichloromethane fractions of the root and leaves extracts were more potent against the brine shrimp with LC 50 values of 7.870 ppm and 19.135 ppm (µg/ml) respectively, whereas methanol fractions of both the extracts exhibited low potent activity with LC 50 values 61.575 ppm and 226.053 ppm (µg/ml) in root and leaves respectively. Conclusion: The result indicated bioactive components are present in this plant that could be accounted for its pharmacological effects.