Medicinal plants are rich source of bioactive phytoconstituents used for treating and healing a variety of ailments. Five different extracts of the leaves of Tragia involucrate were evaluated for their anticancerous activity against K562 cell lines. The phytoconstituents were extracted with petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol by single solvent maceration with continuous shaking. Preliminary phytochemical analysis by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) revealed the presence of steroids, anthraquinones, phenolic compounds etc in the extracts. The antioxidant activity of extracts was determined by DPPH spraying on TLC plates. The haemagglutination potential and complement activation were performed using aqueous extract. It showed mild haemagglutination ability whereas it could not activate complement. The extracts were tested for cytotoxicity by MTT assay. The chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts showed the antiproliferative activity against K562 cell lines.

Objective: Plant-derived bioactive molecules are providing infinite opportunities for new drug development as they possess a wide range of actions against diseases with lesser side effects. The present study is made to analyze the qualitative phytochemicals and to evaluate in vitro antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory potentials of leaf extracts of Thespesia populnea. Methods: T. populnea leaf extracts were prepared sequentially according to the increasing polarity of the solvents, i.e., petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol. Qualitative phytochemical analysis was performed to identify the chemical constituents of the extracts, and antiproliferative properties were evaluated against different cell lines using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Bovine serum albumin anti-denaturation assay was done to identify the anti-inflammatory activity.Results: Phytochemical analysis of the extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, and phenolics. The chloroform extract (CHFE) of T. populnea has a dose-dependent antiproliferative effect against acute T-cell leukemia (Jurkat E6-1), prostate Grade IV adenocarcinoma (PC-3), mouse fibroblast (L-929), and monkey kidney normal (Vero) cells. Their inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50) values were found to be 35.73±0.94 μg/ml for Jurkat E6-1, 60.79±1.84 μg/ml for PC-3, 60.88±1.45 μg/ml for L-929, and 83.482±2.05 μg/ml for Vero, respectively. CHFE also displayed the anti-inflammatory potential.Conclusion: The chloroform leaf extract of T. populnea possesses potent antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory activity. These properties present in leaf extract may be explained by the presence of biologically active constituents.