Apodytes dimidiata, belonging to the family Icacinaceae, is used for treating inflammation and various gastrointestinal ailments in Zulu traditional medicine. In the present study, significant cytotoxicity was exhibited by the methanolic extract of the A. dimidiata leaf against various cancer cell lines. The extract was purified partially through silica gel column by successive elution using various solvents of increasing polarity. Among these, the active methanolic fraction was found to be the most cytotoxic with IC50 values ranging from 0.92 to 3.95 µg/mL for Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (a carcinoma cell line), Jurkat (human T lymphocyte cell line), and SK-BR-3 (mammary tumour cell line). The treated cells showed morphological alterations characteristic of apoptosis. Upon oral administration of active methanolic fraction at a dose of 250 mg/kg body weight, the solid tumour volume in mice was significantly reduced to 55.14% and the life span of the ascites tumour-bearing mice increased to 44.65% compared to untreated control. The active fraction with Rf value 0.56 was purified from the methanolic fraction by preparative thin-layer chromatography and was subjected to high-performance thin-layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. The iridoid glycoside genipin was identified as the active component.
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.