Phytochemical Screening and Cytotoxicity of Crude Extracts of Vatica diospyroides Symington Type LS

Theera Srisawat¹*, Parinuch Chumkaew¹, Waraporn Heed-Chim¹, Yaowapa Sukpondma² and Kanyanatt Kanokwiroon³

¹Faculty of Science and Industrial Technology, Prince of Songkla University Suratthani campus, Muang, Suratthani 84000, ²Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, ³Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110 Thailand

*For correspondence: E-mail: theera918s@hotmail.com or theera.s@psu.ac.th  Tel: +66-7735-5040 ext 8929; Fax: +66-7735-5453

Received:  18 October 2012                                                                  Revised accepted: 7 January 2013

Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, February 2013; 12(1): 71-76

Purpose: To investigate the phytochemistry and cytotoxic activity of the leaf, branch and fruit extracts of Vatica diospyroides Symington type LS, an endangered medicinal plant in the peninsula of Thailand.

Methods: Extracts of the mature leaves, branches and fruit (both cotyledon and pericarp) of five-year old tree were obtained using various organic solvents. Thin–layer chromatography (TLC) and phytochemical screening were employed to identify the chemical constituents. Cytotoxicity was characterized by 50 % inhibition (IC₅₀) of human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468) using 3-(4,5-dimethylthaizol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay.

Results: The extracts of the plant parts differed in chemical composition. Terpenoids and anthraquinones were present in all extracts, while cardiac glycosides and tannins were isolated from the branches and leaves, respectively. The acetone and methanol extracts of the fruit cotyledons were highly cytotoxic against MDA-MB-468 cell line (IC₅₀ = 3.1 µg/ml for both extracts), whereas acetone and dichloromethane extracts of the fruit pericarps were highly active against MCF-7 cell line (IC₅₀ = 18.2 and 21.0 µg/ml, respectively). The other extracts were less active.

Conclusion: This work revealed the potentials of V. diospyroides fruit as a cytotoxic agent against human breast cancer cell lines. However, further studies, including identification and purification of the active compounds, will need to be pursued.

Keywords: Breast cancer, Crude extract, Dipterocarpaceae, MCF-7, MDA-MB-468, Vatica diospyroides.