Screening of bioactives, anti-oxidant and anti-cancer potential of a herbal formulation

Abstract

Medicinal plants have a role in cancer management. The purpose of this study was to develop a herbal adjunct for symptom management in cancer treatment and evaluate its in vitro antioxidant and anti-cancer activity. Locally available and traditionally used medicinal plants with known anti-cancer properties were selected for development of the formulation. Two variations of the formulation viz., Raw herbal formulation (RHF) and Heat treated formulation (HTF) were prepared. The activity of the variations was compared with Triphala (TRF). The 80% methanol extract of all the samples exhibited higher antioxidant activity and was chosen for screening the anti-cancer ability. The results of GC-MS showed that bioactives having potential anti-cancer effect were identified in HTF with lower probability. However, bioactive components with anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-tumor and cyto-toxic activity were higher in RHF. The morphological studies confirmed apoptotic effect of RHF. Overall, RHF exhibited higher in vitro antioxidant, anti-cancer and cytotoxicity effect.