In Vitro Antiproliferative Activity Of Aqueous Root Bark Extract Of Cassia Abbreviata (Holmes) Brenan

Cancer is referred to as uncontrolled abnormal proliferation of body cells. It is a leading cause of death in developed world and second leading cause of death in developing world. Currently cancer treatment and management is a challenge due to complexity of the disease, toxicity of chemotherapy and unaffordability of treatment. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate complementary and alternative medicine for leads and development of anticancer drugs. Cassia abbreviata has traditionally been used for its ethnotherapeutic properties and pharmacological activities. It has been reported topossess antiproliferative activity, though up to date there is no scientific evidence to validate this claim. The main objective of this study was to determine the antiproliferative activity of aqueous root bark extract of Cassia abbreviata on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), Vero, and Macrophage cell lines in vitro. The antiproliferative effects of aqueous root bark extract of Cassia abbreviata was determined using MTT assay. The results showed that aqueous root bark extract of Cassia abbreviata has antiproliferative activity against HCC, Vero and Macrophage cell lines. The extract had the highest antiproliferative activity against HCC cell line with an IC50 of 1.49µg/ml as compared to 81.08µg/ml and 128.38µg/ml in Macrophages and Vero cells respectively. The IC50 observed on non-cancerous normal cells (Macrophages and vero cells) indicated that aqueous root bark extract of Cassia abbreviata had little antiproliferative effects on normal body cells hence regarded as safe. The extract contained flavonoids, phenols, tannins and saponins. In conclusion the antiproliferative activity of aqueous root bark extract of Cassia abbreviata observed could be attributed to the phytochemicals present in this plant extract. The results of this study, validates the claim that aqueous root bark extract of Cassia abbreviata has antiproliferative activity and justifies its use in herbal medicine.