Phytochemical Studies and Evaluation of Antioxidant, Anticancer and Antimicrobial Properties of Conocarpus erectus L. Growing in Taif, Saudi Arabia.
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Date
2012-04
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Abstract
The use of plants and their derived substances increases day by day for the discovery of
new therapeutic agents owing to their versatile applications. Conocarpus erectus L. (family
Combretaceae) is one of two species in the genus Conocarpus widely spread in Taif and
other parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is used in some countries as folk remedy for
anemia, catarrh, conjunctivitis, diabetes, diarrhea and fever. To our knowledge from
literatures there is little work about phytochemical contents and biological activities of C.
erectus which encouraged the authors to carry out this study. The four defatted methanol
extracts of C. erectus different parts (leaves, stems, fruits and flowers) showed high free
radical scavenging activity toward DPPH radical with SC50 between 6.47-9.4 μg/ml. The n-
BuOH fractions obtained from successive fractionation of the four defatted methanol
extracts had radical scavenging activity with SC50 between 4.43-5.89 μg/ml higher than the
EtOAc fractions (7.04-10.71 μg/ml). Due to the high antioxidant activity of the EtOAc and
n-BuOH fractions, it was in vitro assayed toward two human cancer cell lines; HepG2 &
MCF-7; using Sulphorhodamine-B assay method. The results showed that most fractions
had cytotoxic activity with IC50< 20μg/ml which fall within the American Cancer Institute
criteria. A preliminary antibacterial screening of the four defatted methanol extracts of the
different parts toward five bacterial strains were done. Phytochemical investigation of the EtOAc and n-BuOH fractions showed that phenolic compounds constitute the major
components of it. In conclusion this is the first report on the phytochemical and biological
properties of Conocarpus erectus growing in Taif governorate, KSA. More in vivo and in
vitro studies along with detailed phytochemical investigation are needed in the hope to can
use this plant (crude extract, fractions, sub-fractions or pure compounds) in the prevention
and therapies of some diseases.
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Keywords
Conocarpus erectus, ethnomedicine, antioxidant, anticancer, phytochemical characterization, phenolic compounds
Citation
Abdel-Hameed El-Sayed S,Bazaid Salih A, Shohayeb Mohamed M, El-Sayed Mortada M, El-Wakil Eman A. Phytochemical Studies and Evaluation of Antioxidant, Anticancer and Antimicrobial Properties of Conocarpus erectus L. Growing in Taif, Saudi Arabia. European Journal of Medicinal Plants. 2012 Apr-Jun; 2(2): 93-112.