Objectives: To determine the cytotoxicity of crude ethanolic extract, n-butanol fraction and aqueous fraction on selected cancer cell lines, and to observe the morphological changes of the cancer cells treated with n-butanol fraction.
Methods: The cytotoxic effect of n-butanol fraction, crude ethanolic extract and aqueous fraction on breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), colon cancer (HT29), lung cancer (A549), cervical cancer (HeLa) and normal mouse fibroblast (3T3) cell lines was deter-mined using MTT assay. The morphological changes of the treated cells were observed under an inverted light microscope.
Results: n-Butanol fraction was the most cytotoxic towards HT29 and MCF-7 cells in a dose-dependent manner compared to crude ethanolic extract and aqueous fraction (P <0.05). The IC50 of n-butanol fraction for HT29 and MCF-7 was (780.00 ± 28.28) and (895.00 ± 7.07) mg/mL, respectively. Cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing and for-mation of apoptotic bodies were noted following treatment of HT29 cells with n-butanol fraction.
Conclusions: In conclusion, n-butanol fraction was more cytotoxic than crude ethanolic extract and aqueous fraction towards the selected cancerous cell lines and induced apoptosis in HT29 cells.