African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12496

Full Length Research Paper

Bauhinia purpurea leaves’ extracts exhibited in vitro antiproliferative and antioxidant activities

Z. A. Zakaria1*, M.S. Rofiee2, L. K. Teh3, M. Z. Salleh3, M. R. Sulaiman1 and M. N. Somchit1
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. 2Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. 3Pharmacogenomics Center, Faculty of Pharmacy Universiti Teknologi MARA, 42300 Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 10 December 2010
  •  Published: 03 January 2011

Abstract

The antiproliferative and antioxidant activities of various extracts of the leaves ofBauhinia purpurea were studied using in vitro standard assays. The aqueous and chloroform extracts successfully inhibited the proliferation of all cancer cells while the methanol extract inhibited the proliferation of all cells except the CEMss cells when assessed using the 3,(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay. The aqueous extract was effective against MCF-7 (IC50 ≈ 9µg/ml), MDA-MB 231 (IC50 ≈ 17 µg/ml) and Caov-3 (IC50 ≈ 16 µg/ml); the chloroform extract was highly effective against the CEMss (IC50 ≈ 18 µg/ml) and HeLa (IC50 ≈ 21 µg/ml); and the methanol extract was highly effective only against the HL-60 (≈ 12 µg/ml) cell lines. Interestingly, all extracts did not inhibit the proliferation of 3T3 cells suggesting their non-cytotoxic properties. The aqueous and methanol, but not chloroform, extracts of B. purpurea (20, 100 and 500 mg/ml) exhibited concentration-dependent antioxidant activity only in the superoxide scavenging assay, but low to moderate activity in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, which could be associated with their total phenolic contents. In conclusion, the B. purpurea leaf possesses potential antiproliferative and concentration-dependent antioxidant activities. Purification and determination of active compounds are required for further study.

 

Key words: Bauhinia purpureain vitro, antiproliferative activity, antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds.

Abbreviation

Abbreviations: ROS, Reactive oxygen species; MTT, 3,(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide; FBS, fetal bovine serum; BHT, butylated hydroxytoluene; NBT, nitro blue tetrazolium; TPC,total phenolic content; NF-κB, nuclear factor-kappa B; NOS, nitric oxide synthase.