Anti-inflammatory, anti-cholinergic and cytotoxic effects of Sida rhombifolia

Abstract

Context: Sida (Malvaceae) has been used as a traditional remedy for the treatment of diarrhoea, malarial, gastrointestinal dysentery, fevers, asthma and inflammation.

Objectives: This study evaluates the anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic and anti-cholinergic activities of Sida rhombifolia Linn. whole plant for the first time.

Materials and methods: S. rhombifolia whole plant was extracted by n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol using Soxhlet apparatus. The plant extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant (DPPH, FIC and FRAP), anti-inflammatory (NO and protein denaturation inhibitions), cytotoxic (MTT) and anti-cholinesterase (AChE) properties in a range of concentrations to obtain IC₅₀ values. GC-MS analysis was carried out on the n-hexane extract.

Results and discussion: The ethyl acetate extract exhibited the most significant antioxidant activities by scavenging DPPH radicals and ferrous ions with EC₅₀ of 380.5 and 263.4 μg/mL, respectively. In contrast, the n-hexane extract showed the strongest anti-inflammatory activity with IC₅₀ of 52.16 and 146.03 μg/mL for NO and protein denaturation inhibition assays, respectively. The same extract also revealed the strongest effects in anti-cholinesterase and cytotoxic tests at the concentration of 100 μg/mL, AChE enzyme inhibition was 58.55% and human cancer cells, SNU-1 and Hep G2 inhibition was 68.52% and 47.82%, respectively. The phytochemicals present in the n-hexane extract are palmitic acid, linoleic acid and γ-sitosterol.

Conclusions: The present study revealed that the n-hexane extract possessed relatively high pharmacological activities in anti-inflammation, cytotoxicity and anti-cholinesterase assays. Thus, further work on the detail mechanism of the bioactive phytochemicals which contribute to the biological properties are strongly recommended.

Keywords:

• Acetylcholinesterase
• arrowleaf sida
• brine shrimp
• MTT
• nitric oxide
• protein denaturation

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Persatuan Memperbaiki Akhlak Che Ru, Endau for providing the plant samples.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Additional information

Funding

The authors acknowledge Taylor’s Research Grant Scheme (TRGS) – Emerging Researchers Funding Scheme (ERFS/1/2014/SBS/012) and Major Grant Scheme (MFS/1/2015/SBS/001) for financial support.