Antioxidant and cytotoxicity studies of <i>Eleusine indica</i> (Linn.) Gaertn. on brine shrimp

Abstract

Cancer is currently one of the most dangerous diseases reported all over the world; there are numerous researches ongoing to tackle the effects of chemotherapy on diagnosed patients. Hence, this study aimed at evaluating the antioxidant and cytotoxic potentials of Eleusine indica on Brine shrimp. Fresh E. indica was air dried, pulverized, macerated in absolute methanol at room temperature for 72 hours, and concentrated. Phytochemical screening of the powdered sample was done using standard protocols. The crude extract was further partitioned into different fractions (n-hexane, aqueous, ethyl acetate), screened for their cytotoxic and anti-oxidant activities using brine shrimp lethality assay and 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging method respectively. For the anti-oxidant test, gallic acid and catechol were used as control while cyclophosphamide was used as the control for cytotoxicity test. Preliminary phytochemical assay revealed the presence of alkaloids and anthraquinones while saponins and cardiac glycosides were absent. High anti-oxidant activity was recorded with the lethal concentration of aqueous extract E. indica (129% LC₅₀) followed by the crude extract (128.7% LC₅₀) when compare to gallic acid (0.95% LC₅₀) and catechol (1.70% LC₅₀). The crude extract showed high activity against brine shrimp cell. The n-hexane fraction (12.08 LC₅₀ μg/mL) showed the highest cytotoxic activity followed by the aqueous fraction (7.72 LC₅₀ μg/mL). This study revealed the potent antioxidant and cytotoxic potentials of E. indica and also justified its use in traditional medicine. Further investigation should be carried out on the isolation and characterization of the bioactive compounds responsible for these activities.