title: Phytochemical screening, anti-oxidant activity and in vitro anticancer potential of ethanolic and water leaves extracts of Annona muricata (Graviola).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the phytochemical composition, antioxidant and anticancer activities of ethanolic and water leaves extracts of Annona muricata (A. muricata) from the Eastern Uganda.
  
  
  METHODS
  Phytochemical screening was conducted using standard qualitative methods and a Chi-square goodness of fit test was used to assign the relative abundance of the different phytochemicals. The antioxidant activity was determined using the 2, 2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and reducing power methods whereas the in vitro anticancer activity was determined using three different cell lines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed that they were rich in secondary class metabolite compounds such as alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, flavonoids, coumarins and lactones, anthraquinones, tannins, cardiac glycosides, phenols and phytosterols. Total phenolics in the water extract were (683.69±0.09) μg/mL gallic acid equivalents (GAE) while it was (372.92±0.15) μg/mL GAE in the ethanolic extract. The reducing power was 216.41 μg/mL in the water extract and 470.51 μg/mL GAE in the ethanolic extract. In vitro antioxidant activity IC50 was 2.0456 mg/mL and 0.9077 mg/mL for ethanolic and water leaves extracts of A. muricata respectively. The ethanolic leaves extract was found to be selectively cytotoxic in vitro to tumor cell lines (EACC, MDA and SKBR3) with IC50 values of 335.85 μg/mL, 248.77 μg/mL, 202.33 μg/mL respectively, while it had no cytotoxic effect on normal spleen cells. The data also showed that water leaves extract of A. muricata had no anticancer effect at all tested concentrations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results showed that A. muricata was a promising new antioxidant and anticancer agent.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Department, Pan African University, Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation (PAUISTI - JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Yahaya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gavamukulya
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, 12613 Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: Faten
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abou-Elella
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Department, Pan African University, Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation (PAUISTI - JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya; Biochemistry Department, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wamunyokoli
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Department, Pan African University, Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innovation (PAUISTI - JKUAT), Nairobi, Kenya; Faculty of Agriculture Research Park (FARP) and Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, 12613 Giza, Egypt. Electronic address: helshemy@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Hany
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: AEl-Shemy
keywords: Annona muricata; Anticancer; Antioxidant; Phytochemical screening