Evaluation of Phytochemical Analysis, Antioxidant, Anti Inflammatory and Antimicrobial Activities of Acalypha Indica L (Leaf) and Its Cytotoxic Effect on MCF-7 (Breast Cancer) Cell Lines

Abstract

Breast cancer has emerged as the most common female cancer in developing countries. Each year 10.9 million people suffer from breast cancer worldwide that result in 6.7 million deaths from the disease. A recent study of breast cancer risk in India revealed that 1 in 28 women develop breast cancer during her lifetime. Breast cancer is a disease in which certain cells in the breast become abnormal and multiply without control or order to form a tumor. In some cases, cancerous tumors can invade surrounding tissue and spread to other parts of the body often in the bones, liver, lungs, or brain.

Acalyphaindica (Euphorbiaceae) is used as a medicinal plant and occurs throughout tropical Africa South Africa, India and Sri Lanka. The active medicinal compounds like Acalyphine and Triacetoneamine are extracted from this plant along with cyanogenic glucoside and alkaloids. The pharmacological properties of Leaf extracts of Acalyphaindica are anti-cancerous, anti-inflammatory, anti-helmintic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-tubercular, ant-ioxidant, anti-molluscicidal, neuro-protective, neuro-theurapeautic, anti-venom and antiulcer activity. The leaf extract compounds appear to be non-polar in nature as they were extracted into non-polar solvents like hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol and methanol. Further studies, however, are needed to identify the specific molecules involved in the inhibition of these enzymes and other receptors in breast cancer. Hence the present study is taken to systematically evaluate the anti-cancer properties of the pure extracts and also to isolate and characterize the active principles of Acalyphaindica.

The crude extracts of whole plant using different organic solvents will be screened for their anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity. This kind of assessment is further helpful for identification of active molecule and effective drug designing. In the present study, an attempt is being made to enrich the knowledge of anti-cancer activity of plant extracts from Acalyphaindica L. on human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7