Antiproliferative assay of suma or Brazilian ginseng (Hebanthe eriantha) methanolic extract on HCT116 and 4T1 cancer cell lines, in vitro toxicity on Artemia salina larvae, and antibacterial activity

Abstract

Hebanthe eriantha is a medicinal plant used in folk medicine and a subject of commercial interest. The cytotoxicity effects from H. eriantha root extracts on cancerous and normal cells were assessed by the MTT method, and in vitro toxicity was evaluated on Artemia salina. The inhibition of the proliferation of bacteria and MIC values were examined by the disc diffusion and the broth microdilution method, respectively. Human colon cancer HCT116 and mouse breast tumour model 4T1 cells treated with methanolic extract showed a significant decrease in viability of cells with IC₅₀: 272.6 and 88.5 µg/mL at 72h, respectively. The methanolic extract of H. eriantha showed moderate toxicity against A. salina (LC_50: 589.4 µg/mL). In antimicrobial activity, the methanolic extract showed the highest inhibitory function against S. aureus and P. vulgaris (17.5 and 16 mm) with MICs of 500 µg/mL. The results confirmed the potential of plant roots as cytotoxic agents.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Brine shrimp
• broth microdilution method
• cytotoxic effect
• suma root

Acknowledgment

The study was performed by the School of Pharmacy, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.