Cymbopogon citratus, commonly known as Lemon grass is a small herbaceous plant of the Poaceae family. It is used as traditional medicine for the treatment of numerous diseases such as cancer, fever, sore throats, cough, laryngitis, bronchitis, body ache, headache, digestive problems, etc. This study deals with the cytotoxic activities of C. citratus against three different human cancer cells A549, HepG2, and MCF-7. The chemical fractionation of the plant material using ethanol, ethyl acetate, and hexane was prepared and analyzed for bioactivity. Ethyl acetate extract showed the highest anticancer activity against A549, HepG2, and MCF-7 human cancer cells with cell viability percentage (64.09±1.11, 41.22± 0.34, and 66.24± 1.50%, respectively) with IC 50 values (147, 65, and 155µg/ml, respectively). Results of this study show that the ethyl acetate fraction of C. citratus is a rich source of phenolics and other compounds that can play a significant role in preventing the progression of cancer diseases.

Extracts of three leaves: Cymbopogon citratus, Hibiscus sabdariffa, and Lawsonia inermis were screened for phytochemicals in ethanol (80%), hexane, and ethyl acetate. The potential of plant extracts to scavenge free radicals such as DPPH, ABTS and FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) was investigated. For all extracts, phytochemical analysis indicated the presence of terpenoids, steroids, tannins, anthocyanins, phenols and flavonoids with absence of fatty acids in ethanol 80% and ethyl acetate. Ethyl acetate extract of L. inermis achieved a high percentage of TPC and TFC, but it was higher in 80% ethanol of H. sabdariffa than the other extracts under study. Ethyl acetate extracted the highest TPC (66.8 ± 3.6 mg/100g) in C. citratus and 80% ethanol extracted the highest TFC (37.23± 2.05mg/100g). Ethanolic extract (80%) of the three plants' leaves showed a higher IC 50 value than both ethyl acetate and hexane extracts. This indicates that 80% ethanol was the best solvent for extracting phenolic compounds and flavonoids. The "ABTS radical" scavenging activity was the highest for ethyl acetate extract of L. inermis. The lowest value was observed for hexane extract of both C. citratus and L. inermis. This study exhibited potential of ethanolic extracts (80%) of all plants for removing free radicals and their effectiveness to be a powerful antioxidant.