Investigation of cytotoxic activity of hydroalcoholic extract of medicinal plants using Artemia salina (Brine Shrimp test)

Abstract

Medicinal plants have been screened for their biological activity using Brine Shrimp (Artemia salina leach). Brine shrimp lethality test was used to investigate the cytotoxic activity of plant extracts. After 24 hour of treatment, the larvicidal activity was assessed on the base of percentage of larval mortality. The bioactivity of hydroalcoholic extracts of different parts of medicinal plants, at different concentrations (1-5000 μg/mL), was evaluated with the shrimp lethality assay. Lethality concentration (LC50) was obtained using probit analysis. Out of the 17 plants tested, Veratrum album Bernh, Capsicum annuum L, Atropa belladonna L, Toxicodendron pubescens Mill and Berberis vulgaris L exhibited potent brine shrimp lethality with LC50 of 400, 420, 430, 610 and 612 μg/mL, respectively.