Antitumor and cytotoxic potential of various extracts of Gloriosa superba L. Centaurea behen L., Elaeocarpus ganitrus Roxb and Ficus religiosa L. against human breast cancer (MDA-MB 231) cell lines

Background: Medicinal plants are rich in a wide variety of secondary metabolites such as tannins, alkaloids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids etc.  which have the capability to inhibit many pathways that lead to cancer. The present study was conducted with the objectives to screen the extracts of dried roots Gloriosa superba L., dried roots of Centaurea behen L. dried fruits/beads of Elaeocarpus ganitrus Roxb., dried leaves of Ficus religiosa L. and investigate their antitumor activity on human breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB 231). Methods: Cytotoxic activity was evaluated against non-cancerous cell lines (MCF-10A). Hexane, chloroform, methanol and water were the solvents used for extraction of phytoconstituents by Soxhlet method. Anti-proliferative potential of the plant extracts was evaluated using MTT assay. The trypan blue dye exclusion test was used to determine the number of viable cells present in a cell suspension. Results: On MDA MB-231 cell lines, 91.94% cell death was reported with G. superba aqueous extract followed by E. ganitrus methanol extract and F. religiosa hexane extract with 87.93% and 81.61% cell death respectively. Moreover, none of the extracts had shown cytotoxic effect while evaluated against normal non-cancerous cell lines (MCF- 10A). Conclusions: It is inferred from the current findings that phytoconstituents present in the plant extracts have high anticancer potential. These phytoconstituents along with some new anticancer agents present in the plant extracts reflects the high cytotoxic potential against cancer cells.