Cytotoxic potentiality of Colocasia esculenta leaves extract on five different cancer cell lines using 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay

Background: Medicinal plants have been playing a major role because of their therapeutic importance in terms of combating various diseases. Colocasia esculenta is an annual plant known for its medicinal properties. Aim: The present investigation was aimed to screen the cytotoxic potentiality of C. esculenta leaves extract against five different cancer cell lines. Materials and Methods: Ethanol was used as a solvent to extract plant material using hot extraction method. In our investigation, five different cancer cell lines such as human lung cancer (A549), ovarian cancer (Pa-1), prostate cancer (PC3), colon cancer (HCT 116), and acute leukemia (K562) were exposed to dose dependent cytotoxic studies. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay carried out to determine the efficacy of ethanol extract of indigenous medicinal plant C. esculenta leaves in hindering the activity of cancerous cells and cisplatin was used as standard anticancer drug. Results: The inhibitory concentration (IC50) values recorded for Pa-1, A549, HCT116, K562, and PC-3 are 93.2 µg/mL, 133.6 µg/mL, 172.87 µg/mL, 217.54 µg/mL, and 223.08 µg/mL, respectively. The IC50 values ranged 93.2 µg/mL–223.08 µg/mL indicate the presence of variety of active principles present in the ethanolic extract. Conclusion: The ethanolic extract showed dose-dependent activity against all five different cancer cell lines. Investigation provides basic evidence to enlist C. esculenta leaves as one of the plants with cytotoxic properties, encourages to isolate bioactive compounds, and understands their interaction with cancer cells.