Antioxidant and antineoplastic activities of leaves of Hibiscus sabdariffa Lina against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells in Swiss albino mice

Abstract

Background: Since chemical anticancer drugs are found to have adverse effect on body, nowadays people are motivated towards natural agents to treat cancer. Fruits and vegetables are potential source of natural anticancer agents that protect our body against cancer by scavenging and neutralizing free radicals. Objective: The study was aimed to explore antioxidant and anticancer properties of methanolic extract of leaves of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (MEHSL). Methods: In vitro assays were used to examine the different types of phytochemical content and antioxidant properties of MEHSL. In vitro and in vivo assays were performed to study the effects of MEHSL on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells. Chemical constituents were also analyzed by GC–MS. Results: Total phenolic and flavonoid contents of MEHSL were found to be 26.23±0.30 and 131.13±1.40 mg/g of extract in terms of gallic acid and catechin equivalent, respectively. The MEHSL exhibited remarkable scavenging effect on DPPH, ABTS, nitric oxide scavenging activity and inhibition of lipid peroxidation with IC50 values 6.768, 11.54, 29.84 and 17.55, respectively, compared to the positive control, catechin. In vitro cytotoxic study shows that MEHSL reduced the viability of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells in dose dependent manner. In in vivo, significant inhibition of EAC cells growth and proliferation, reduction of tumor weight and increased of survival time of EAC-bearing mice were noted following by intraperitoneal MEHSL treatment at the doses of 5 and 10 mg/ kg/day (p<0.05). Moreover, the MEHSL also altered the depleted hematological parameters like RBC, WBC, and percentage of hemoglobin (Hb %) of EAC bearing mice towards normal. Furthermore, administration of MEHSL induced apoptosis of EAC cells as observed in Hoechst-33342 stained cells under fluorescence microscope. Hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester (2.845%), hexadecanoic acid (9.858%), linolenic acid methyl ester (2.142%), 9,12- -octadecadien -1-Ol (2.063), alpha-glyceryl linolenate (6.138), arachidic acid (23.280%) and phthalic acid, 6-ethyloct-3-yl 2-ethylhexyl ester (74.926%) were identified as the major constituents of MEHSL by GC-MS analysis. Conclusion: Findings of the present study suggested that the leaves of H. sabdariffa can therefore be considered as a promising resource in cancer chemotherapy. Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2021; 47(2): 156-164