Syzygium cumini (pomposia) active principles exhibit potent anticancer and antioxidant activities

Abstract

The antioxidant and anticancer activities of Syzygium cumini fruit extracts were investigated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging assay and viability of leukemia cancer cells (AML cell line) respectively. The successive extracts, hexane, chloroform, ether, ethyl acetate, ethanol and water were prepared and subjected to antioxidant and anticancer evaluation. The results showed that the ethanol extract had stronger antioxidant and anti- leukemia activities than the other ones. Spectroscopic methods data of active ingredients separated from ethanol extract indicated that S. cumini fruit extracts contained phenolic compounds, such as Kaempferol 7-O-methylether and sterols such as γ-Sitosterol responsible for their antioxidant and anticancer activities. A significant linear relationship between anticancer potency, free radical-scavenging ability and the content of active compounds of fruit extracts supported this observation.   Key words: Anticancer, antioxidant, successive extraction, Syzygium cumini.