In vivo and in vitro inhibitory potential of Punica granatum Linn roots against melanoma tumor cells

Abstract

Ethanol and aqueous extracts of roots of Punica granatum linn ( punicaceae) are evaluated for In vivo anticancer activity against melanoma cells in mice and In vitro inhibitory activity on MDA- MB – 435 human melanoma cells by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethyl thiazol-2-yl)2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide] colorimetric assay. Ethanol extract significantly reduced tumor growth in mice as compared with positive control and was prominently inhibitory against human melanoma cell lines (In vitro) at the concentration range between 10 to 40 µg /ml. whereas aqueous extract exhibited less activity at the same concentration. Simultaneously, the In vitro inhibition of ethanol extract against vero cell line proliferation was lower in comparison with cancer cell lines. The more significant inhibitory activity ( in vitro and in vivo) of ethanol extract of roots of Punica granatum against melanoma cells may be attributed towards the collective presence of polyphenols, alkaloids and sterols. Remarkably, the ethanol extract of roots of Punica granatum exhibited lower inhibitory effect on vero cell lines and also equipotent with standard drug to inhibit melanoma growth in mice. These observations qualify the plant to be used as chemopreventive agent in cancer therapy.