Antiproliferative and antioxidant potential of Tridax procumbens extracts against various human cancer cell lines: An insight for medicines from weeds

This study aimed to evaluate the anticancer and antioxidant potential of Tridax potential and to identify its main phenolic compounds using reverse-phase HPLC. The crude extract of T. procumbens was separated into different fractions using the liquid–liquid partition method. T. procumbens crude extracts and fractions were tested on human cancer cell lines (PC-3, COLO-205, A549, A431, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468, and K562) as well as a control cell line (HEK-293). The antioxidant activities of the extracts and fractions were also assessed. The majority of the extracts appeared to inhibit the progression of human cancer cell lines based on IC₅₀ values that varied from 23.41 to 90.76 µg/mL. However, the chloroform fraction of the stem (7) displays strong activity against A431 and MDA-MB-231, with IC₅₀ values of 23.41 g/mL and 29.45 µg/mL, respectively. The antioxidant result shows that extracts and their fractions scavenge free radicals with an IC₅₀ value between 14.70 and 93.80 µg/mL. However, 7 showed more efficacies with an IC₅₀ of 14.70 µg/mL in the DPPH assay and 29.90 µg/mL in the nitric oxide assay. HPLC analysis revealed that the flower part of T. procumbens contains high levels pf ferulic acid (0.55 to 2.65 mg/g) and kaempferol (1.1 to 4.95 mg/g). A strong antioxidant activity observed in DPPH and NO assay which helps to measure the extract’s effectiveness in scavenging NO free radical, neutralizing other reactive oxygen species (ROS), often correlate with significant antiproliferative effects in various cancer cell lines. This study highlights the potential of plant-based compounds in cancer treatment.