title: Biological activities of Morus celtidifolia leaf extracts.
abstract: The aims of this research were to examine the antibacterial, cytotoxic and antiradical/antioxidant activities of the organic extracts obtained from the leaves of the medicinal plant Morus celtidifolia (Family: Moraceae). To evaluate its antimicrobial properties, M. celtidifolia was tested against the bacteria of medical importance: Bacillus subtilis, Staphyloccocus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae and Enterobacter aerogenes. Cytotoxic activity was assessed by using the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethality assay and also by toxicity screening against human cancer cell lines: MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) and HeLa (cervix adenocarcinoma). The free radical-scavenging activity was determined by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) assay. Results revealed that the hexanic extract has antibacterial activity only against Gram positive strains, while the methanolic extract showed better cytotoxic and antioxidant activities than the non- polar extract with a median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of 125μg/ml, 90μg/ml and 75μg/ml against A. salina, MCF-7 and HeLa cells respectively, and median effective concentration (EC₅₀) of 152μg/ml on radical scavenging assay. This is the first study reporting the biological activities of leaves of Morus celtidifolia.
authors.affiliation: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León. México.
authors.forename: Ezequiel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Viveros-Valdez
authors.affiliation: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León. México.
authors.forename: Azucena
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oranday-Cárdenas
authors.affiliation: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León. México.
authors.forename: Catalina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rivas-Morales
authors.affiliation: Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León. México.
authors.forename: María Julia
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Verde-Star
authors.affiliation: Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Centro de Investigación Biomédica del Noreste, Monterrey, Nuevo León. México.
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carranza-Rosales
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D006801:Humans; D031625:Morus; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018515:Plant Leaves
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D010936:Plant Extracts