Evaluation of in vitro antioxidant and anticancer activity of tabernaemontana divaricata leaf extracts against T-24 human bladder cancer cell lines

Abstract

Background and Objective: Tabernaemontana divaricata belongs to family Apocynaceae is an ornamental, flowering, evergreen shrub that is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of urinary disorders, abdominal tumours and dysentery. The aim of the study was to investigate in vitro antitoxicity and anticancer activities from leaf extracts of Tabernaemontana divaricata. Materials and Methods: The present study involves at screening of preliminary phytochemicals, determination of total phenolic contents, evaluation of methanol, ethanol and aqueous leaf extracts of T. divaricata using in vitro 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, Phosphomolybdenum (PM) method and evaluation of in vitro anticancer activity on T-24 human bladder cancer cell line. Results: The preliminary screening of phytochemicals revealed a broad spectrum of secondary metabolites present in all five different solvent extracts. Aqueous extract showed high presence of phenols (62.54±0.18 mg g− 1 GAE, r 2 = 0.9882) among methanol and ethanol extracts in comparison to Gallic acid (80.28±0.14 mg g− 1 GAE, r 2 = 0.9954). Ethanol extracts exhibited potential antioxidant activity at a concentration of 100 mg mL− 1 (62.41±0.67%). The IC 50 value was 188.9±07 µg mL− 1 for T-24 bladder cancer cell line whiles the standard drug Doxorubicin showed an IC 50 value of 0.23 µM mL− 1 . Morphological variations was observed in cancerous cells undergoing cell shrinkage and membrane blebbing in human bladder cancer cell line T-24 while the extract showed no cytotoxicity towards normal cells MEF-L929. Conclusion: Based on these results it can be concluded that the tested extracts holds significant antioxidant and anticancer properties. However further investigation with lead compounds of T. divaricata on in vivo trials will enable its therapeutic use.