Investigation on the biological attributes of Tragia involucrata Linn. using in vitro methods

Abstract

Medicinal plants are rich source of bioactive phytoconstituents used for treating and healing a variety of ailments. Five different extracts of the leaves of Tragia involucrate were evaluated for their anticancerous activity against K562 cell lines. The phytoconstituents were extracted with petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol by single solvent maceration with continuous shaking. Preliminary phytochemical analysis by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) revealed the presence of steroids, anthraquinones, phenolic compounds etc in the extracts. The antioxidant activity of extracts was determined by DPPH spraying on TLC plates. The haemagglutination potential and complement activation were performed using aqueous extract. It showed mild haemagglutination ability whereas it could not activate complement. The extracts were tested for cytotoxicity by MTT assay. The chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts showed the antiproliferative activity against K562 cell lines.