Cytotoxic & Anti-oxidant Activity of Ethyl Acetate (EA) Fraction of F. hispida Leaf Extract

Abstract

The study was designed for pharmacological investigation of ethyl acetate (EA) fraction of methanol extract of the leaves of Ficus hispida (Family: Moraceae). The powdered leaves of Ficus hispida were extracted with methanol and then partitioned with n-hexane, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate consecutively. The EA fraction remaining was investigated for total flavonoid content, total phenol content, brine shrimp lethality test. The fraction contained 139.167mg AAE/gm of dried extract in total phenolic content assay and 9.73mg quercetin/gm of dried extract in total flavaniod content assay. Screening for cytotoxic properties using brine shrimp lethality bioassay with tamoxifen (LC50 value of 35.23 μg/ml) as positive control showed that the fraction have considerable cytotoxic potency exhibiting LC50 value of 1.79 μg/ml. The EA fraction showed strong cytotoxic activity, low antioxidant activity and low to moderate antimicrobial activity. Further investigations are needed for the proper identification and isolation of these bioactive compounds to produce safer drugs for treatment of harmful diseases.