Cytotoxicity and antioxidant activity studies of green leafy vegetables consumed in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This investigation was conducted to examine the cytotoxicity and the antioxidant activity of some green leafy vegetables consumed in Sri Lanka. In this study, cytotoxicity was tested using brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethality bioassay. As anticipated majority of the tested leafy vegetables were found to have insignificant cytotoxicity. However, some of the greens Aerva lanata and Baccopa monnieri showed significantly higher level of (p<0.001) cytotoxicity when compared with the positive control. Alternanthera sessilis which is the most popular leafy vegetable among Sri Lankans and Passiflora edulis showed similar toxicity levels as the positive control. Consumption of these four leafy vegetables could pose a potential health risk. Therefore, further toxicological studies should be carried out to evaluate their potential health risks. Antioxidant activity of above greens were tested using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, and all the tested leafy vegetables showed free radical scavenging properties indicating the presence of primary antioxidants in the plants.