Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Phytochemical characterization and anti-cancer properties of extract of Ephedra foeminea (Ephedraceae) aerial parts

Yousef M Al-saraireh¹ , Ahmed MM Youssef², Fatemah OFO Alshammari¹, Sameeh A Al-Sarayreh⁴, Jehad M Al-Shuneigat⁴, Hamzeh M Alrawashdeh⁵, Samir S Mahgoub^3,6

¹Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Mutah University, Mutah, Al-Karak 61710, PO Box 7, Jordan; ²Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mutah University, Mutah, Al-Karak 61710, PO Box 7, Jordan; ³Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, Kuwait City 15432, PO Box 14281, Kuwait; ⁴Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Mutah, Al-Karak 61710, PO Box 7; ⁵Department of Ophthalmology, Sharif Eye Centers, Irbid, Jordan; ⁶Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Minia University, Al-Minia, Egypt.

For correspondence:- Yousef Al-saraireh Email: Yousef.sar@mutah.edu.jo

Accepted: 22 July 2021 Published: 31 August 2021

Citation: Al-saraireh YM, Youssef AM, Alshammari FO, Al-Sarayreh SA, Al-Shuneigat JM, Alrawashdeh HM, et al. Phytochemical characterization and anti-cancer properties of extract of Ephedra foeminea (Ephedraceae) aerial parts. Trop J Pharm Res 2021; 20(8):1675-1681 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v20i8.18

© 2021 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the phytochemical profile of methanol extract of Ephedra foeminea and assess its anti-carcer effect on a large set of normal and cancerous cell lines

Methods: Extraction of air-dried powder of aerial parts of E. foeminea was carried out with methanol. The bioactive compounds in the extract were determined using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The anti-cancer effect of the extract was determined by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay against various types of normal and cancer cell lines. Serial concentrations of plant extract were used, ranging from 7.812 to1000 μg/mL. Doxorubicin (DOX) served as standard drug. The half-maximal concentration (IC₅₀) values of the extract and DOX for each cell line were determined, and the selectivity index (SI) was computed.

Results: Phytochemical analysis showed that the extract contained several bioactive compounds, including alkaloids, flavonoids, sterols and fatty acids. The hazardous ephedra alkaloids (ephedrine and pseudoephedrine) were absent in the plant extract. The extract showed significant anti-proliferative activity against cancer cell lines, when compared with the positive control, doxorubicin (p < 0.05). Selective and concentration-dependent cytotoxicity was exhibited in cancer cell lines of breast (MCF-7), lung (A549), colon (Caco-2), liver (HepG-2) and prostate (PC-3). Weak selectivity was produced in other cancer cell lines, i.e., human epithelioma (Hep-2) and cervical carcinoma (Hela). Interestingly, non-cancerous cells showed no or weak cytotoxicity.

Conclusion: Ephedra foeminea exerts potential selectivity in anti-proliferative effect against some cancer cell lines. Thus, it is a promising drug source for the production of new and selective anti-cancer medicines.

Keywords: Alkaloids, Cytotoxicity, Ephedra foeminea, Medicinal plants, Phytochemical analysis