Phytochemical screening and in-vitro evaluation of antiproliferative activity of extracts and fractions of Rhus mysorensis against human triple negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Owing to its medicinal properties, in the current investigation, crude extracts and liquid fractions of stem bark of Rhus mysorensis (RM) were screened for phytochemical composition and in vitro antiproliferative activity. Materials and Methods: Phytoconstituents in extracts were examined using standard qualitative tests. TFC and TPC of the extracts were measured using the aluminum chloride and the Folin-Ciocalteau methods respectively. In vitro antiproliferative activity of obtained five crude extracts (RMHE, RMPE, RMCE, RMME and RMAE) and three liquid fractions (RMLH, RMLC and RMLM) were determined in MDA-MB-231 cells by MTT assay. Results: Different types of phytoconstituents were detected in crude extracts. The total phenolic contents of RMME (295.92 ± 0.32 mg Gallic acid/g extract) while total flavonoids contents of RMHE (75.0 ± 4.33mg Catechin / g of extract) were found significantly higher as compared to other solvent extracts. RMME exhibited the highest antiproliferative activity on MDA-MB-231 cells followed by RMCE and RMHE with IC50 values of 79.60 ±1.05, 86.81±1.11 and 121.45 ± 6.03μg/mL respectively. RMPE and RMAE did not show significant growth inhibition. Unlike other crude extracts, RMME did not inhibit the growth of L6 cells even at higher concentration (320μg/mL). Among the solvent fractions, RMLM demonstrated potent antiproliferative activity in MDA-MB-231 (IC50, 60.85±1.59μg/mL) cells while RMLH and RMLC showed comparatively lesser growth inhibitory effect with IC50 values of 111.3 ± 0.35 and 124.1 ± 2.74μg/mL respectively. Conclusion: The extracts of Rhus mysorensis were shown to contain a remarkable amount of different bioactive compounds, thus confirming their involvement in several biological activities. RMLM selectively inhibit the proliferation of TNBC (triple negative breast cancer) cells hence it can be used as a source for isolation and characterization of novel anticancer compounds.