Cytotoxicity, Antioxidant Activities, GC-MS and HPLC Fingerprint Analyses of Different Extracts of Desmodium tortuosum (Sw.) DC

The family Fabaceae is the third-largest flowering plant family, and the genus Desmodium has exhibited a wide range of biological activities and a variety of chemical constituents. In the present study, different extracts of Desmodium tortuosum were evaluated for their cytotoxic and antioxidant activities, as well as their total phenolic content (TPC). The antioxidant activities were estimated using the 1,1'-diphenyl-2-picraylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH), while the cytotoxic activity was evaluated via the brine shrimp lethality test (BSLT). The antioxidant activity results revealed that the DPPH radical scavenging activity (SC50) ranged from 1.12 to 61.22 µg/ml with respect to ascorbic acid (SC50 = 7.45 µg/ml). Among all tested fractions, 90% methanol was the most active. On the other hand, the cytotoxic activities were arranged as follows: n-BuOH (LC50 = 310), EtOAc (LC50 = 350), and 70% methanol (LC50 = 380). High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Fingerprint analyses were used to determine the chemical composition and relative proportions of phenolic compounds. GC-MS analysis indicated the presence of fatty acids and other compounds. The major identified compounds were Benzene (1-butyloctyl) (11.88%) and Himachalene (11.08%) for the ethyl acetate extract and 10-Undecenoic acid, methyl ester (25.50%) for unsaponifiable matter.