M. SUDHA RANI, B. PREETI CHANDRAKALA, Y. T. RAJESH BABU* AND S. B. PADAL
Department of Botany, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam-530 003 (Andhra Pradesh), India
*(e-mail: baburajesh0999@gmail.com; Mobile: 63008 84860)
(Received: December 8, 2025; Accepted: January 20, 2026)
ABSTRACT
Plant-derived antioxidants are of particular interest due to their ability to neutralize reactive oxygen species involved in cancer initiation and progression. This study evaluated the antioxidant and anticancer potential of leaf and bark extracts of the endangered medicinal plant Trichosanthes tricuspidata Lour. using in vitro assays. Antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH radical scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, while cytotoxic efficacy was determined against the human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line HCT-116 using the MTT assay. Among the tested extracts, the methanolic bark extract exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity, with IC50 values of 35.80±4.04 µg/ml (DPPH) and 43.22±0.20 µg/ml (FRAP), approaching the activity of ascorbic acid. The methanolic leaf extract also demonstrated substantial antioxidant potential (DPPH IC50 = 44.38 ± 4.20 µg/ml). Cytotoxicity results revealed a concentration-dependent inhibition of HCT-116 cell proliferation, with the methanolic leaf extract showing higher anticancer efficacy (IC 50 = 129.4±2.11 µg/ml) and inducing over 90% growth inhibition at 500 µg/mL. GC-MS analysis of methanolic extracts identified several bioactive constituents, including 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester, stigmast-7-en-3-ol, and matairesinol, which may contribute to the observed bioactivities. These findings suggest that T. tricuspidata, particularly its methanolic leaf extract, holds promise as a natural source of antioxidant and anticancer compounds for colorectal cancer management.
Key words: Antioxidant activity, colorectal adenocarcinoma, cytotoxicity (MTT assay), HCT-116 cell line, GC-MS spectroscopy