Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Evaluation of Methanolic Extract of Aglaonema Hookerianum

Abstract

Aglaonema hookerianum is an herb found in the forests of Sylhet, Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts. The species is traditionally used in the treatment of cirrhosis, flatulence, hyper acidity (gastritis) and tetanus and in stomachache, conjunctivitis and constipation by various communities of the region. The objective of the study was to evaluate the methanolic extract of Aglaonema hookerianum of whole plant for antioxidant activity and cytotoxic activity. The antioxidant activity of crude methanolic extract of Aglaonema hookerianum was evaluated by reducing power assay method. The color change was determined with the UV spectrophotometer. Values of Concentration against Absorbance was plotted to prepare a curve for the extract and standard ascorbic acid. The results indicate that as the concentration increases, absorbance increases proportionately. When the results are compared with the standard, the increase in reducing power is slightly less than the standard. This suggests the presence of bioactive compounds having antioxidant activity but is not potent at the required concentration. The crude methanolic extract of Aglaonema hookerianum was also screened for cytotoxic activity using brine shrimp lethality bioassay. The nauplii were treated with different concentration of the extract and the standard Tamoxifen. From the curve of % Mortality against Log of Concentration, LC50 value was determined. The LC50 value of Tamoxifen and the extract was 13.38 μg/ml and 44.8 μg/ml respectively which indicates the extract is less potent than the standard but possesses significant cytotoxic activity as substances less than 1000 μg/ml is presumed to possess cytotoxic activity.