Antitumor, Antimicrobial activities and Phytochemicals Constituent of different Extracts of Pulicaria undulata (Forssk.) Oliver. Grown Naturally in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Antitumor and antimicrobial resistance are a habitual global issue, which continually demands finding new natural compounds to encounter the resistance. Pulicaria undulata (Forssk.) Oliver. (Asteraceae family) has numerous promising medicinal properties. The recent work aimed at determination of antitumor effects of three extracts of P. undulata on three types of human carcinoma; HEPG-2 hepatocellular carcinoma, MCF-7 breast carcinoma and HCT-116 colon carcinoma cell lines. Anticancer activity was assessed through studying the viability of the cancer cells and apoptotic pathway. Also, antimicrobial potency of different extracts was assessed against studied human pathogens (five Gram negative bacteria, two Gram positive bacteria and yeast). The results reveal that chloroform extract has different levels of cytotoxicity toward the three types of cancer cell lines. The half maximal inhibitory concentration IC 50 value was 3.01 µg/ mL for the HepG-2, 16.4 µg/mL for the MCF-7, and 7.4 µg/ mL for HCT-116. Followed by the ethyl acetate extract which showed strong cytotoxic activity against HEPG2 with IC 50 = 12.2 µg /ml and moderate activities against MCF7 and HCT 116 and recorded (IC 50 = 26.7 and 26.4 µg /ml, respectively). While the crude methanol extract recorded the lowest cytotoxic effect against HEPG2, MCF7 and HCT 116 with (IC 50 = 51.4, 105.1 and 86.7 µg / ml,  respectively).  Chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts have a high antimicrobial activity more than methanol extract against the pathogens being studied. HPLC and GCMs Analysis identified numerous chemical compounds of P. undulata extracts with various therapeutic benefits. In conclusion, P. undulata has the potential to act as an antimicrobial agent against various pathogenic microbes and is a promising wild herb for the treatment of cancer.