RESUMO
Objectives: To determine the cytotoxicity of crude ethanolic extract, n-butanol fraction and aqueous fraction on selected cancer cell lines, and to observe the morphological changes of the cancer cells treated with n-butanol fraction. Methods: The cytotoxic effect of n-butanol fraction, crude ethanolic extract and aqueous fraction on breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), colon cancer (HT29), lung cancer (A549), cervical cancer (HeLa) and normal mouse fibroblast (3T3) cell lines was deter-mined using MTT assay. The morphological changes of the treated cells were observed under an inverted light microscope. Results: n-Butanol fraction was the most cytotoxic towards HT29 and MCF-7 cells in a dose-dependent manner compared to crude ethanolic extract and aqueous fraction (P Conclusions: In conclusion, n-butanol fraction was more cytotoxic than crude ethanolic extract and aqueous fraction towards the selected cancerous cell lines and induced apoptosis in HT29 cells.