Cytotoxic and antioxidant effect of the ethanolic extract of Citrullus colocynthis L. plant fruit

Abstract

Citrullus colocynthis L. of the Cucurbitaecea botanical family is a plant widely used in traditional medicine in Algeria. It seems empirically effective in the treatment of various diseases. The aim of the present research is to evaluate the antioxidant and cytotoxic effects, in vitro, of the ethanolic extract of C. colocynthis fruits. The quantitative analysis has shown that the ethanolic extract of C. colocynthis is rich in total polyphenols with a content of 443.62 ± 2.13 µg EAG/mg of extract. The results obtained showed a strong anti-free radical activity of the ethanolic extract of C.colocynthis exerted against the DPPH free radical scavenging effect (CI₅₀ = 6.31 µg/ml) and highlighted a powerful ferric reducing antioxidant power (CI₅₀ = 27.94 µg/ml). We should also note a good antioxidant activity against the OH radical, obtained with the concentration (IC₅₀ = 67.13 µg/ml). Furthermore, the obtained results indicate that the treatment of the three cancer cell lines (HepG2, SH-SY5Y and Raw 264.7) with the different concentrations of the used extract reduced the number of cells in a dose-dependent way. Based on our results, we can consider that Citrullus colocynthis is a plant with a strong pharmacological power and can therefore be used in phytotherapy.