Anti-oxidant and Cytotoxic Activity of Centaurium erythraea Methanolic Extract: An in vitro Study Using MTT Assay

Abstract

     The Centaurium erythraea plant is widely used as a remedy for illnesses. The purpose of this study was to identify the key phytochemical components of the plant and assess how alcoholic extracts of those chemicals affected. In vitro anti-oxidant activity was measured using two methods: DPPH radical scavenging activity and reductive ability, to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of C. erythraea on two cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and HepG2) and a normal cell line (HdFn). A secondary metabolite study revealed that, depending on the solvent used, the entire plant contained varying amounts of tannins, glycosides, alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, and polyphenols. Total flavonoid content was highest in the alcoholic extract (210.2±25.7 mg/g). C. erythraea showed efficacy in scavenging DPPH and ABTS radicals at all tested concentrations (200, 100, 50, 25 and 12.5 µg/ml). A breast cancer cell line was used to demonstrate dose-dependent cell viability. A plant that showed the most powerful cytotoxic action, with an IC₅₀ value of 42.2 μg/ml, decreased the viability of the cells as the concentration increased. Additionally, a dose-dependent pattern was seen in cell viability in the liver cancer cell line (HepG2). By raising the quantity of C. erythraea, the cell viability is decreased. The lowest (HepG2) cell viability (%) was observed at 200μg/ml (44.98±6.45%), whilst the maximum (87.62±2.95%) was attained at 12.5 μg/ml.  With an IC₅₀ value of 47.6, C.  erythraea demonstrated the most effective cytotoxic action and may offer a viable anticancer therapy when combined with specific medications.