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Antiproliferative and phytochemical analyses of leaf extracts of ten Apocynaceae species

1★, 1, 2, 2★ Corresponding author

  1. 1School of Science, Monash University Sunway Campus, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
  2. 2Herbal Medicine Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

CORRESPONDENCE

Siu Kuin Wong

School of Science, Monash University Sunway Campus, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

nywsk@yahoo.com

Volume 3, Issue 2 · pp. 100-106 · 2011 · DOI: 10.4103/0974-8490.81957

ABSTRACT

The anticancer properties of Apocynaceae species are well known in barks and roots but less so in leaves. In this study, leaf extracts of 10 Apocynaceae species were assessed for antiproliferative (APF) activities using the sulforhodamine B assay. Their extracts were also analyzed for total alkaloid content (TAC), total phenolic content (TPC), and radical scavenging activity (RSA) using the Dragendorff precipitation, Folin–Ciocalteu, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays, respectively. Leaf extracts of Alstonia angustiloba, Calotropis gigantea, Catharanthus roseus, Nerium oleander, Plumeria obtusa, and Vallaris glabra displayed positive APF activities. Extracts of Allamanda cathartica, Cerbera odollam, Dyera costulata, and Kopsia fruticosa did not show any APF activity. Dichloromethane (DCM) extract of C. gigantea, and DCM and DCM:MeOH extracts of V. glabra showed strong APF activities against all six human cancer cell lines. Against breast cancer cells of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, DCM extracts of C. gigantea and N. oleander were stronger than or comparable to standard drugs of xanthorrhizol, curcumin, and tamoxifen. All four extracts of N. oleander were effective against MCF-7 cells. Extracts of Kopsia fruticosa had the highest TAC while those of Dyera costulata had the highest TPC and RSA. Extracts of C. gigantea and V. glabra inhibited the growth of all six cancer cell lines while all extracts of N. oleander were effective against MCF-7 cells. Extracts of C. gigantea, V. glabra, and N. oleander therefore showed great promise as potential candidates for anticancer drugs. The wide-spectrum APF activities of these three species are reported for the first time and their bioactive compounds warrant further investigation.

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    Wong, S. K., Lim, Y. Y., Abdullah, N. R., & Nordin, F. J. (2011). Antiproliferative and phytochemical analyses of leaf extracts of ten Apocynaceae species. Pharmacognosy Research, 3(2), 100-106. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8490.81957

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    © 2011 Author(s)

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0