Objective: The aim of this study was to assess cytotoxic activity of extracts and fractions from the Paramignya trimera root (PTR) and Phyllanthus amarus (PA) against two pancreatic cancer cell lines (primary: BxPc3 and secondary: CFPAC1).
Materials and methods: The root of PT and whole plant of PA were used in this study. The extracts and fractions from the PTR and PA were prepared using microwave-assisted extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The cytotoxic activity was assessed using the Dojindo Cell Counting Kit-8 assay.
Results: The findings showed impressive cytotoxic capacity of the PTR extract against both pancreatic cancer cells of BxPc3 and CFPAC1 in a range of concentrations from 50 to 200 μg/mL, which was higher than those of ostruthin (67 μM), gemcitabine (50 nM), and four its fractions (50 μg/mL), and to be comparable to a saponin-enriched extract from Quillaja bark at 200 μg/mL. In contrast, the cytotoxic capacity of the PA extract and nine its fractions against these pancreatic cancer cell lines was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those of gemcitabine (50 nM) and Quillaja bark extract (200 μg/mL) and being comparable to phyllanthin (4.8 μM). The IC50 values of the PTR extract against BxPc3 and CFPAC1 cancer cells were 32.12 and 36.65 μg/mL, respectively, which was much lower than that of the PA extract against CFPAC1 cancer cells (128.81 μg/mL).
Conclusion: The outcomes obtained from this study reveal that the PTR extract is a lead source for the potential development of novel antipancreatic cancer drugs and/or functional foods.
Keywords: Cytotoxicity; Paramignya trimera; Phyllanthus amarus; extracts; fractions.