Antioxidant, anticancerous and cytotoxic effects of Avicennia marina

Abstract

Mangrove plants have been used in folklore medicines. Mangroves are woody trees and shrubs that grow in the intertidal zones of tropical and sub-tropical regions. Avicennia marina is an important mangrove species with a wide geographical and climatic distribution which suggests that a large amount of genetic diversity are available for conservation and breeding programs. Leaves of this plant are mainly used in the clinical approach. Antioxidant, anticancerous and cytotoxic effects of methanol extract of A.marina (MEAM) leaves have been tested in this study. The various antioxidant model systems viz., 1, 1-diphenyl-2picryl-hydroxyl, (DPPH) superoxide dismutase (SOD), lipid peroxidation by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and iron chelating activity by ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay were performed. Followed by the anticancerous activity of the extract on cervical cancer and cytotoxic effect on peripheral blood mononuclear cell were also studied. The result of DPPH scavenging capacity of both ascorbic acid and MEAM was increased when the concentration increases. The 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) values in all antioxidant models viz, DPPH, SOD, TBARS and FRAP radical scavenging activity of MEAM were found to be 154, 187, 179 and 245 µg/ml respectively. The IC50 value of MEAM on Hela cell lines and the cytotoxic concentration (CC50) of MEAM on PBMC was found to be 107 and 1370 µg/ml respectively. Finally, it has been concluded that the MEAM leaves showed significant antioxidant and anticancerous activity.