Preliminary Screening of Durio Zibethinus Linn (D197) Leaf Extracts for Its Antioxidant Activity and Cytotoxicity on Cervix Adenocarcinoma (HELA) Cancer Cell Line

Introduction: Medicinal plants have always been in the spotlight of drug discoveries attributing to their effectiveness and minimal side effects. Durio zibethinus Linn (D197) leaves stand out with decent advantageous therapeutic effects apart from abundantly employed in traditional treatment. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the antioxidant activity, total phenolic and total flavonoid contents as well as the cytotoxicity of Durio zibethinus Linn (D197) leaf extracts. Methods: Extraction of the leaves was performed using hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and 70% aqueous methanol respectively via maceration. Extracts were screened for antioxidant potential using DPPH Free Radical Scavenging Activity, total phenolic content using Folin-Ciocalteu Assay, total flavonoid content using aluminium chloride colourimetric method, and cytotoxic properties on cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cell line using MTT Assay. Results: Methanol demonstrated the highest percentage of extraction yield (2.73%) and the highest potency in DPPH free radical scavenging with EC50 value of 304.29 µg/mL followed by aqueous methanol (441.25 µg/mL), ethyl acetate (556.71 µg/mL) and hexane (>600 µg/mL). Highest effectiveness in phenolic compounds extraction was demonstrated by methanol (141.03 µg GAE/mg) followed by aqueous methanol (63.08 µg GAE/mg), ethyl acetate (41.79 µg GAE/mg) and hexane (36.92 µg GAE/mg). As for the total flavonoid content, high effectiveness of flavonoid extraction was exhibited by ethyl acetate (166.19 µg QE/mg) as compared to hexane (94.76 µg QE/mg), methanol (17.62 µg QE/mg) and aqueous methanol (13.81 µg QE/mg). Ethyl acetate emerged as the most potent extract in inhibiting HeLa cells with IC50 values of 19.95 µg/mL, 30.07 µg/mL and 23.42 µg/mL for 24, 48 and 72 hours respectively. Conclusion: Durio zibethinus Linn (D197) leaf extracts showed antioxidant and cytotoxic activities and thus, further studies are essential for development of possible cancer treatment.