Insights into HPLC-MS/MS Analysis, Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activity of <i>Astragalus fruticosus</i> against Different Types of Cancer Cell Lines

• Main Authors: Mohamed Fayez Dekinash (Author), Tarek M. Okda (Author), Ehab Kotb Elmahallawy (Author), Fathy Kandil El-Fiky (Author), Gamal Abd El Hay Omran (Author), Emil Svajdlenka (Author), Naief Dahran (Author), Manal F. El-Khadragy (Author), Wafa A. Al-Megrin (Author), El Moataz Bellah Ali El Naggar (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2022-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/ph15111406; 1424-8247
• Keywords: <i>Astragalus fruticosus</i>; HPLC-MS/MS profiling; colorectal cancer; cytotoxic activity; Medicine; R; Pharmacy and materia medica; RS1-441
• Source: Pharmaceuticals, Vol 15, Iss 11, p 1406 (2022)

Plants from the genus <i>Astragalus</i> are gaining attention for their pharmacological importance. However, the information available regarding the HPLC-MS/MS chemical profile of <i>A. fruticosus</i> is inadequate. In this study, we performed HPLC-MS/MS analysis using electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI). We tentatively identified 11 compounds in the <i>A. fruticosus</i> methanolic extract, including five flavonoidal and six saponin glycosides. The extract showed moderate antioxidant activity with 21.05% reduction in DPPH UV absorption. The preliminary cytotoxic screening against seven human cancer cell lines using 100 μg/mL extract showed prominent cytotoxic potential against colorectal cancer HCT-116 with 3.368% cell viability. It also showed moderate cytotoxic potential against prostate (DU-145), ovarian (SKOV-3) and lung (A-549) cancer cell lines with cell viability of 14.25%, 16.02% and 27.24%, respectively. The IC₅₀ of the total extract against HCT-116 and DU-145 cell lines were 7.81 μg/mL and 40.79 μg/mL, respectively. The observed cytotoxicity of the total methanolic extract from the leaves against colorectal cancer might facilitate future investigations on cytotoxic agent(s) for disease management.