Cytotoxicity and anti-vibriotic activity of Noni as an ethnobotanical

Abstract

The crude methanolic extract of Acacia, Alibutbut, Bayabas, Biab, Botolan, Bulobitu-un, Buyo, Kamunsil, Kasla, Kayos, Langka-langka, Noni, Pasaw, Sampaguita, Tabong, Talisay, Yellow bell, were bioassayed for their cytotoxicity using brine shrimp nauplii assay. Among the plant extracts, Noni gave the highest LCso equal to 943.329 pg/mL.

Noni was the least toxic among the plants tested and its crude methanolic extract was found to have activity against V. harveyi with an anti-vibriotic index of 0.256. Sequential extraction using solvents with increasing polarity gave fractions that exhibited anti-vibriotic property but the more polar ethyl acetate fraction gave the highest anti-vibriotic index of 0.513. It appears that the anti-vibrio constituent is polar.

Using VLC, the ethyl acetate fraction was further separated into eighteen fractions which were in turn pooled into five fractions, Fa, Fb, Fc, Fd, and Fe based on their TLC profile. Anti-vibriotic activity of each fraction was determined. Fraction Fa has the highest anti-vibriotic index (0.192) but this is much lower than 0.513. There must be some synergy among the polar constituents that exhibited a higher anti-vibriotic index in the ethyl acetate fraction compared to fraction Fa.

Based on several color reactions, ethyl acetate fraction may contain any of the following plant metabolites such as tannins, saponins, phenolic groups, conjugated double bonds, flavonoids, sterols, terpenes, except alkaloids.