Cytotoxicity, Antioxidant Activity and Phytochemical Screening of Four Euphorbia Species from Jordan
Abstract
The current study was designed to reveal the main groups of secondary metabolites in the methanol (M) and acetone (A) extracts from four Euphorbia species from Jordan. The extracts of these species were also tested for their total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activity, and cytotoxic effects against human MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. Different groups of secondary metabolites were found in the M and A extracts of E. hierosolymitana, E. aleppica, E. petiolata, and E. prostrata. All extracts had moderately high TPC and TFC. Of all species, both extracts of E. aleppica had an exceptionally high TFC that far exceeded its content in all other extracts (1462.67 ± 0.04; 1600.44 ± 0.03 mg quercetin equivalents/g of extract, respectively). E. prostrata extracts had high amounts of TPC (182.61 ± 0.12; 187.35 ± 0.07 mg gallic acid equivalents/g extract) and TFC (629.78 ± 0.00; 774.22 ± 0.01 mg quercetin/g extract). Extracts obtained from the tested Euphorbia species had moderate high antioxidant activity, but the DPPH and ABTS-scavenging activity of the E. prostrata extracts was the highest, but were lower than those observed for the the positive controls (range 0.004– 0.009 mg/mL). The methanol extract of E. hierosolymitana also showed strong DPPH scavenging activity (0.007 ± 0.002 mg/mL). The acetone extract of E. prostrata showed much stronger anticancer activity than the positive control drug, doxorubicin (62.5±3.71 mg/mL), against the human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 (HTB-26TM) cell line (IC50 value: 58 ± 3.71 µg/mL).
Author
Al-Qudah, Mahmoud A.
Abu Orabi, Faten M.
Sheikhekraim, Ghalya M.
Lahham, Jamil N.
Al-Jaber, Hala I.
Alhamzani, Abdulrahman G.
Alakhras, Abbas I.
Bataineh, Tareq T.
Al-Ameer, Hamzeh J.
Abu-Orabi, Sultan T.