Isolation, Characterization, and Evaluation of the Mucilage from Pedalium murex Linn. Leaves.

Abstract

Background: Many plant-derived compounds have been used as pharmaceutical excipients due to their various functional properties. One such plant product is mucilage, which has created great interest among researchers to be explored for numerous biological applications.

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to isolate mucilage from the leaves of Pedalium murex Linn. (family; Pedaliaceae). The obtained mucilage was characterized physiochemically and evaluated for its antioxidant and anticancer properties.

Methods: The obtained mucilage was screened for its phytochemicals and characterized physiochemically using FTIR, XRD, DSC, and SEM. Its antioxidant property was analyzed using DPPH and FRAP assays. The anticancer activity of the mucilage was evaluated against colon and cervical cancer cell lines using an MTT assay.

Results: The phytochemical screening of the mucilage demonstrated the ability to reduce sugars, flavonoids, amino acids, tannins, saponins, and steroids. The yield percentage of mucilage was 24%, and it has a swelling index of 10. It was found to be soluble in warm water and showed a pH of 9. The FTIR spectra of mucilage showed characteristic peaks of its functional groups. The SEM image showed a porous and rough morphological surface of mucilage. The obtained mucilage demonstrated antioxidant activity by DPPH and FRAP assays and exhibited anticancer activity against cervical and colon cancer cell lines using the MTT assay.

Conclusion: Mucilage contains many phytochemicals with various functional properties like antioxidant and anti-cancer activities. Thus, the isolated mucilage from Pedalium murex Linn. showed promising characteristics that could be tailor-made for various biological applications.