Cytotoxic Activities of Cymbopogon citratus Extracts Three types of human cancer cell lines were tested: Lung Carcinoma (A549), Breast Cancer (MCF-7) and Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Hep G2)

Abstract

Cymbopogon citratus, commonly known as Lemon grass is a small herbaceous plant of the Poaceae family. It is used as traditional medicine for the treatment of numerous diseases such as cancer, fever, sore throats, cough, laryngitis, bronchitis, body ache, headache, digestive problems, etc. This study deals with the cytotoxic activities of C. citratus against three different human cancer cells A549, HepG2, and MCF-7. The chemical fractionation of the plant material using ethanol, ethyl acetate, and hexane was prepared and analyzed for bioactivity. Ethyl acetate extract showed the highest anticancer activity against A549, HepG2, and MCF-7 human cancer cells with cell viability percentage (64.09±1.11, 41.22± 0.34, and 66.24± 1.50%, respectively) with IC 50 values (147, 65, and 155µg/ml, respectively). Results of this study show that the ethyl acetate fraction of C. citratus is a rich source of phenolics and other compounds that can play a significant role in preventing the progression of cancer diseases.