Evaluation of In vitro-antioxidant and anticancer potential of Abutilon crispum Linn

Abstract

The present study evaluated the in vitro antioxidant and anticancer potential of ethanolic leaf extract of Abutilon crispum Linn. Leaves were Soxhlet-extracted with 90% ethanol to obtain the crude extract. Antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH and nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging assays at concentrations up to 100 µg/mL, using ascorbic acid as reference. The extract produced 93.89% DPPH scavenging and 72.34% NO scavenging at 100 µg/mL, compared with ascorbic acid’s 95.34% and 86.84%, respectively, indicating strong free-radical scavenging capacity. Cytotoxicity against A549 human lung carcinoma cells was evaluated by MTT assay to determine GI50 and by trypan blue exclusion for cell viability across concentrations up to 1600 µg/mL; 5-fluorouracil served as a positive control. The extract showed dose-dependent growth inhibition with a GI50 of 255 µg/mL and induced complete cell death at 1600 µg/mL, whereas 5-fluorouracil produced >90% cytotoxicity at 50 µg/mL, demonstrating greater potency of the chemotherapeutic control. Apoptosis-related effects were investigated by Hoechst 33258 nuclear staining and DNA fragmentation analysis. Treated A549 cells exhibited nuclear condensation and fragmentation, and DNA laddering was observed, supporting apoptotic cell death. Collectively, these findings indicate that ethanolic leaf extract of Abutilon crispum possesses robust in vitro antioxidant activity and induces dose-dependent cytotoxicity in A549 cells via apoptosis. The results support subsequent in vivo studies and bioassay-guided isolation to identify active constituents and elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying the observed anticancer effects.