In vitro antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of methanolic plant part extracts of Theobroma cacao.
The aims of this study were to determine the antioxidant and antiproliferative activity of the following Theobroma cacao plant part methanolic extracts: leaf, bark, husk, fermented and unfermented shell, pith, root, and cherelle. Antioxidant activity was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), and Folin-Ciocalteu assays; the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium (MTT) assay was used to determine antiproliferative activity. The root extract had the highest antioxidant activity; its median effective dose (EC50) was 358.3±7.0 µg/mL and total phenolic content was 22.0±1.1 g GAE/100 g extract as compared to the other methanolic plant part extracts. Only the cherelle extract demonstrated 10.4%±1.1% inhibition activity in the lipid peroxidation assay. The MTT assay revealed that the leaf extract had the highest antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 cells [median inhibitory concentration (IC50)=41.4±3.3 µg/mL]. Given the overall high IC50 for the normal liver cell line WRL-68, this study indicates that T. cacao methanolic extracts have a cytotoxic effect in cancer cells, but not in normal cells. Planned future investigations will involve the purification, identification, determination of the mechanisms of action, and molecular assay of T. cacao plant extracts.
Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. zainal@koko.gov.my.
Zainal
Z
Baharum
Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. abdah@upm.edu.my.
Abdah Md
AM
Akim
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. taufiq@upm.edu.my.
Yun Hin
YH
Taufiq-Yap
Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. roslida@upm.edu.my.
Roslida Abdul
RA
Hamid
Division of Biotechnology, Centre for Cocoa Biotechnology Research, Malaysian Cocoa Board, Commercial Zone 1, North KKIP, Norowot Road, 88460 Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park, Sabah, Malaysia. rosmin@koko.gov.my.
Rosmin
R
Kasran
D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D002099:Cacao / Q000737:chemistry*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D000432:Methanol / Q000737:chemistry*; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000737:chemistry; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry
D000975:Antioxidants; D010936:Plant Extracts; D000432:Methanol