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. 2023 Sep 7;13(1):14716.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-42086-1.

Identification of phytochemical, antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial potential of Calotropis procera leaf aqueous extract

Armin Ahmad Nejhad  1 , Behrooz Alizadeh Behbahani  2 , Mohammad Hojjati  1 , Alireza Vasiee  3 , Mohammad Amin Mehrnia  1
Affiliations

Identification of phytochemical, antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial potential of Calotropis procera leaf aqueous extract

Armin Ahmad Nejhad et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Since the dawn of civilization, people have turned to plants as a safe and efficient form of treatment for a variety of diseases. It has long been known that Calotropis procera has the potential to treat a number of diseases. In this study, the C. procera leaf aqueous extract was obtained using the maceration method, and p-coumaric was found to be the main compound. The extract was rich in phenols (174.82 mg gallic acid equivalent/g) and flavonoids (1781.7 µg quercetin equivalent/g). The extract had high antioxidant properties, as indicated by the IC50 values obtained for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (366.33 μg/mL) and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) (169.04 μg/mL), as well as the ferric ions reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) (1.67 μg ascorbic acid equivalent/g of the extract). The cytotoxicity of the extract was evaluated against the survival of HT 29 cells, and the IC50 was found to be 236.87 μg/mL. The most resistant and sensitive strains to the extract were Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The morphological changes of these strains were demonstrated through scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The C. procera extract could be therefore used as an antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer agent.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
FTIR spectrum of C. procera extract.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of C. procera extract.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Determination of radical scavenging activity (RSA) percentage of C. procera extract on (a) DPPH, (b) ABTS, and (c) FRAP radicals. Letters a-e in the (a and b) indicate the difference between different concentrations in an antioxidant and in (c) a–c indicate difference between different antioxidants.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cytotoxic effect of various concentrations of C. procera extract on survival of HT29 cell line.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The average IZ (mm) of C. procera aqueous extract against pathogenic bacteria, based on DDA method (Different letters (a–e) in each strain show significant difference at p < 0.05).
Figure 6
Figure 6
The average IZ (mm) of C. procera aqueous extract against pathogenic bacteria, based on WDA method (Different letters (a–d) in each strain show significant difference at p < 0.05).
Figure 7
Figure 7
SEM images of E. coli (a), treated E. coli with C. procera extract (b), S. aureus (c), and treated S. aureus with C. procera extract (d).
Figure 8
Figure 8
CLSM images of E. coli (a), treated E. coli with C. procera extract (b), S. aureus (c), and treated S. aureus with C. procera extract (d).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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