Antiproliferative potential of methanolic and aqueous extracts and their methanolic fractions derived from fruits of Bersama engleriana against a panel of four cancer cell lines

Abstract Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths and health debts worldwide. Novel plant extracts with anticancer properties can alleviate this disease burden. The aim of this study was to screen for new therapeutic agents with anticancer properties against a panel of four cancer cell lines. Cytotoxicity screening of aqueous and methanolic extracts from bark, fruits and leaves of Bersama engleriana was carried out on A546 cell line and the best fractions from the methanolic extract of fruits (BEfr: methanolic extracts of fruits) were performed on four cancer cell lines. Methanolic extracts from the root of Bersama engleriana gave the highest yield (21.55%). Phytochemical analysis showed that the tested methanolic extracts contained polyphenols. The F3, a fraction from the methanolic extract of fruits exhibited potent antiproliferative activities with IC50 values of 60 ± 0.91, 53.73 ± 0.79, 50.91 ± 0.46 µg/ml on U-87MG, MG-63 and MIAPaCa-2 cells, respectively. The F3 fraction also caused death to 50% (CC50) of normal HFF cells, i.e. at 527.4 ± 0.81 µg/ml. Selectivity indexes (SI = CC50/IC50) of 10.52, 8.79, 9.81 and 10.25 were obtained for A549, U-87MG, MG-63 and MIAPaCa-2 cells, respectively. These results confirmed the anticancer potential of Bersama engleriana. Graphical Abstract: