ISSN 2326-7267
International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology ISSN: 2326-7267 Vol. 4 (7), pp. 001-005, July, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Promising antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of the aqueous ethanolic extract of carob leaves
Khaled Nagib1, Omayma A. Eldahshan2* and Walid F. A. M. El-Khatib3
1Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
2Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
3Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Accepted 10 January, 2015
Abstract
Plants are endless reservoir for several phytochemicals including antioxidant and cytotoxic drugs. The objective of this study was the investigation of the antioxidant and the cytotoxic activities (against Vero and HEp-2 cell lines) of the aqueous ethanolic extract of carob leaves. The extract inhibited xanthine oxidase at IC50 of 244 µg/ml. There is a marked cytotoxic activity of crude aqueous extract of carob on both mammalian cell lines (Vero and HEp-2) and the effect is more obvious on the human cell line (HEp-2). The results revealed that the crude aqueous extract of carob leaves could be a promising source for antioxidant as well as antitumor bioactive agents.
Key words: Carob leaves, aqueous ethanolic extract, Ceratonia siliqua, antioxidant, xanthine oxidase, cytotoxicy.