Cytotoxicity and Antioxidant Effects of Celastrus hindsii Benth. Leaf Extract

Celastrus hindsii Benth et Hook. is known as a herbal medicine for the treatment of cancer. In this study we evaluated the cytotoxic and antioxidant effects of Celastrus hindsii Benth et Hook. leaf extract. Samples of Celastrus hindsii were extracted with 90 % ethanol and subsequently fractionated with n-hexane, ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and n-butanol (n-BuOH) solvents. To evaluate the cytotoxic effect, we performed MTT (3- (4,5 dimethylthiazol-2 - yl) - 2,5 - diphenyltetrazolium) assay on the three cell lines human liver Hep G2 (HB - 8065TM), lung LU-1 (HTB - 57TM), breast MCF-7 (HTB - 22TM).  The antioxidant effect was evaluated by screening DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl) free radical assay. The results showed that the EtOAc fraction had the strongest cytoxicity effects on liver cancer cells and lung cancer cells with an IC50 value of 33,7 ± 1,5 mg/mL and 13,0 ± 0,5 mg/mL. The BuOH fraction showed a weaker effect on lung cancer cells with IC50 value of 64,0 ± 2,2 mg/mL. The antioxidant results indicated that the EtOAc fraction had the best antioxidant effect with IC50  value of 46,9 ± 2,5 µg/mL. The EtOH total extract also has strong antioxidant activity with IC50 value of 48,5 ± 2,3 µg/mL. Our study showed that Celastrus hindsii leaf extract has the strong cytotoxicity and antioxidant activities. Keywords Celastrus hindsii Benth et Hook., cytotoxicity, MTT, antioxidant, DPPH. References [1] Ministry of health, General oncology. 2009: Vietnam Education Publishing House Limited Company, 9-10.[2] N.V. Tuyen, Pharmaceutical chemistry curriculum, 2014, Science and Technics Publishing House. 222-223.[3] V.V. Chi. Dictionary of Vietnamese medicinal plants. Medical Publishing House 1 (2012).[4] V. Gan, G. Chen, W. Zhang, J. Zhou . Oleanen induces apoptosis of cervical cancer cells by up-regulation of Bim. International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer 22(1) (2012) 38.[5] Y.H. Kuo, L.M.Y. Kuo. Antitumour and anti-AIDS triterpenes from Celastrus hindsii. Phytochemistry 44(7) (1997) 1275.[6] T. Mosmann, Rapid colorimetric assay for cellular growth and survival: application to proliferation and cytotoxicity assays 65(1-2) (1983) 55.[7] P. Mahakunakorn, M. Tohda, Y. Murakami, K. Matsumoto, H.J.B. Watanabe, P. Bulletin, Antioxidant and free radical-scavenging activity of Choto-san and its related constituents 27(1) (2004) 38.[8] P.T. Thuong, M.K. Na, N.H. Dang, T.M. Hung, P.T. Ky, T.V. Thanh, et al. Antioxidant activities of Vietnamese medicinal plants 12(1) (2006) 29.[9] X.Q. Hu, W. Han, Z.Z. Han, Q.X. Li, X.K. Xu, P. Fu, et al. A new macrocyclic lactone and a new quinoflavan from Celastrus hindsii. Phytochemistry letters 7 (2014) 169.[10] A.C. Spivey, M. Weston, Woodhead SJCSR. Celastraceae sesquiterpenoids: biological activity and synthesis 31(1) (2002) 43.[11] T.L. Ngoc, Technology. Separation process of rosmarinic acid and their derivatives from Celastrus hindsii benth leaves. Vietnam Journal of Science 54(2C) (2016) 380.[12] F.R. Mowsumi, A. Rahaman, N.C. Sarker, B.K. Choudhury, Hossain SJWJPPS. In vitro relative free radical scavenging effects of Calocybe indica (milky oyster) and Pleurotus djamor (pink oyster). 4(07) (2015).[13] T.D. Viet, T.D. Xuan, T.M. Van, Y. Andriana, R. Rayee, H.D. Tran. Comprehensive Fractionation of Antioxidants and GC-MS and ESI-MS Fingerprints of Celastrus hindsii Leaves. Medicines 6(2) (2019) 64.[14] T.N. Ly, M. Shimoyamada, Yamauchi RJJoa, chemistry f. Isolation and characterization of rosmarinic acid oligomers in Celastrus hindsii Benth leaves and their antioxidative activity 54(11) (2006) 3786.