Antioxidant and Anticancer Activity of Rhynchosia rufescens (Willd.) DC.

Abstract

The present study deals with the chemical composition, antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer efficacy of Rhynchosia rufescens (RR) leaf methanol (RRME), ethyl acetate (RREAE) and petroleum ether (RRPE) extracts. Preliminary phytochemical results revealed that alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, volatile oils, fatty acids, and phenols were present in the test extracts. Gas chromatographic analysis of RRPE revealed the identification of 25 volatile compounds. The oil contains monoterpenes (9.6%) and fatty acids (6.12%). The major components of the oil are beta- copaene (32.06%), cyclofenchene (16.53%), beta- pinene (5.69%), 3-carene (3.48%) and sabinene (3.22%). Quantitative estimation of total phenols (TPC) and flavonoids (TFC) indicated that TPC ranged from 8.99 ±1.00 to 60.00±1.15 mg GAE/g dry weight and TFC was between 4.98±0.08 to 20.4±0.50 mg QE/ g dry weight respectively. Methanol extract showed the highest phosphomolybdenum dependent antioxidant capacity, while ethyl acetate extracts strongly inhibited DPPH and hydroxyl radicals. Anticancer study results revealed that ethyl acetate extract enhanced caspase-3 mediated DNA fragmentation in HCT – 116 cell lines than standard cisplatin. In conclusion, R. rufescens extracts showed potent antioxidant, antibacterial activity and potential anticancer activity in HCT-116 cell lines. The observations of this study indicated that R. rufescens extracts are a rich source of natural antioxidants and anticancer components.