In vitro Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Evaluation of Morinda tinctoria Roxb. Leaf Extracts

The in vitro cytotoxic and genotoxic evaluation of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of Morinda tinctoria leaves was carried out by MTT assay and chromosomal aberration (CA), sister chromatid exchange (SCE), cell proliferation kinetics (CPK), and mitotic index (MI) tests. Five cancer cell lines [SW480 (colon adenocarcinoma); MCF-7 (breast cancer); K562 (chronic myeloid leukemia); NCIH-23 (lung cancer); SKMEL-28 (skin melanoma)] were chosen for the MTT assay. The genotoxic evaluation was carried out on human lymphocyte cell cultures at various concentrations (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mg/mL). The results obtained showed (i) concentration-dependent percentage inhibition with the IC50 values of different solvent extracts for cell lines studied ranging from 3.99 to 20.84 mg/mL, (ii) decrease in MI and very slight modification in the CPK values, and (iii) statistical increase in the percentage of cells with CA and the frequency of SCE for cultures exposed to various crude extracts. This is the first report on cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of M. tinctoria leaves extracts. The results suggest that the plant extracts exhibit cytotoxic and possible genotoxic effects with increasing concentration.