ABSTRACT
The antioxidant and anticancer potential of solvent extracts of the leaf, stem bark, fruit, and seeds of Embelia ruminata was investigated. The chloroform seed extracts had the highest TAC of 38.50 mg AAE g−1 DW. In the FRAP and DPPH assays, the methanolic seed extracts exhibited the most effective activity (67.63 mg AAE g−1 and IC50 of 3.54 µg mL−1, respectively), compared to the respective standards. In the MTT assays, the hexane seed extracts were the least cytotoxic and had a more pronounced effect on MCF-7 and A549 cell lines (IC50 of 93.1 and 119.5 µg mL−1, respectively) than the control.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to Dr N. Akwu for her assistance and guidance. Furthermore, we would like to thank Dr V. Bharuth for proofreading the manuscript. Additionally, we are grateful to all our colleagues and staff from the School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu Natal that supported this research.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).