Cytotoxic potential and metabolomic profiling of alkaloid rich fraction of Tylophora indica leaves

Tylophora indica (Burm f.) Merrill, belong to family Asclepiadaceae, is considered to be a natural remedy with high medicinal benefits. The objective of this work is to assess the metabolomic profile of T. indica leaves enriched in alkaloids, as well as to evaluate the in vitro cytotoxicity of these leaves using the MTT assay on human breast MCF-7 and liver HepG2 cancer cell lines. Dried leaves of T. indica were extracted by sonication, using methanol containing 2 % (v/v) of acetic acid and obtained fraction was characterized by HPTLC and UPLC-MS. The UPLC-MS study yielded a preliminary identification of 32 metabolites, with tylophorine, tylophorine B, tylophorinine, and tylophorinidine being the predominant metabolites. The cytotoxicity of the extract of T. indica was evaluated on HepG2 and MCF-7 cell lines, yielding inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values of 75.71 μg/mL and 69.60 μg/mL, respectively. Data suggested that the phytochemical screening clearly showed presence of numerous secondary metabolites with moderate cytotoxic efficacy. In conclusion, the future prospects of T. indica appear promising for the advancement of phytopharmaceutical-based anticancer medications, as well as for the design of contemporary pharmaceuticals in the field of cancer chemotherapy.