Cytotoxic Screening and Anti-cancer Activity of Ornamental Plant Anthurium andraeanum: An In Vitro Study

Abstract

The plant secondary metabolites play an important role in the treatment of various diseases. Phytochemicals such as alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, phlobatannins, steroids, and tannins have potential cytotoxic effects; hence they are considered as promising anti-cancer agents. The first step toward using plant materials for medical use is the assessment of their possible cytotoxic effects. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of Anthurium andraeanum leaf extract on normal and cancer cell lines. Ethanol extraction of the plant was dried and prepared for cell treatment. In general, this plant showed low cytotoxicity against normal and cancer cells. Alcoholic leaves extract of A. andraeanum showed significant cytotoxic effects on vero, lung, and colon cancer cell lines at higher concentrations above (125 µg/mL) with a P value of ( P ≤ 0.001, P ≤ 0.05, P ≤ 0.001) respectively. According to our results, plant extract appears to have no cytotoxic effects at lower concentrations; thus, it may be safe for medical uses, and at high concentrations, it showed cytotoxic effects on cell lines tested.