ABSTRACT
This study was aimed to screen the activity of the methanolic extract of Mikania cordata leaves (MLME) againstpathogenic bacteria and Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC)-induced cancer in mice. Antibacterial activity was testedagainst some Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis IFO 3026 and Sarcina lutea IFO 3232) and Gram-negative (Klebsiellapneumoniae ATTC 10031, Proteus vulgaris MTTC 321, Pseudomonas denitrificans KACC 32026, and Xanthomonascampestris IAM 1671) bacteria by disk diffusion and liquid microdilution assay. The anticancer activity wasassessed by EAC cell death, apoptosis, hematological parameters determination, and 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide test. The MLME exhibited prominent antibacterial activity against the test strains.The minimum inhibitory concentrations were ranged from 1.25 to 20 mg/ml for the bacterial strains that were foundampicillin resistant. The MLME exhibited remarkable anticancer activity on EAC in a dose-dependent manner. Oralintake of MLME at the dosage of 400 mg/kg body weight (b.w) exhibited the highest EAC cell death with remarkableapoptotic features including chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation, and accumulation of apoptotic bodies.The MLME-treated EAC-bearing mice showed dose-dependently restored altered hematological parameters towardthe normal level. The IC50 value was 6.6 ± 1.91 µg/ml. These findings suggest that the M. cordata leaves have strongantibacterial and anticancer properties.