Protective effect of Phyllanthus niruri leaf extracts on Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells subjected to oxidative stress

Phyllanthus niruri has been widely used to treat a number of ailments in traditional medicine. The pharmacological and preventive potential of Phyllanthus niruri, such as in urolithiasis, hyperglycemia, hypertension, pain and mild cases of malaria, are well known. The present investigation was designed to study the protective effects of aqueous, methanol and chloroform extract of Phyllanthus niruri against oxidative stress and cytotoxicity induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Cytotoxicity of leaf extracts and H2O2 was identified by (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT), sulforhodamine B assay (SRB) and neutral red uptake (NRU) assays. All the three extracts showed protection against H2O2 induced toxicity and reduced the loss of cell viability proving the cytoprotective effect of the extracts against H2O2 induced toxicity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. The aqueous extract rendered maximum protection when compared to that of methanolic and chloroform extract.