Antioxidant properties and cytotoxicity of white mugwort (Artemisia lactiflora) leaf extract in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line

Abstract

© 2019, Walailak University. All rights reserved. The present study aims to investigate the antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity of white mugwort (Artemisia lactiflora) leaf extract in the human liver cancer cell line (HepG2 cell). Dried leaves of white mugwort were macerated in 80 % (v/v) aqueous ethanol to get white mugwort leaf extract (WMLE). Spectrophotometrically methods were conducted to quantify the total phenolic content and the antioxidant capacity of the extract, and were found to be 213.33±17.80 mg gallic acid equivalent and 27.20±1.06 mg trolox equivalent per gram of dry extract, respectively. Cytotoxic effects of white WMLE on cell viability and cellular antioxidant defense against reactive oxygen species (ROS) were also examined. The WMLE showed weak ability to inhibit cell growth, with a 50 % inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 148 µg/mL. Furthermore, the extract exhibited antioxidant activity in HepG2 cells via the ability to lower cellular ROS in a dose-dependent fashion. The preliminary results of this investigation supported that WMLE exhibits strong antioxidant activities while remain considerably non-cytotoxic effect. However, more intensive studies are required to clarify the use of WMLE as a novel alternative medicine for the treatment of liver cancer.