Cytotoxic activity of plants of family Zygophyllaceae and Euphorbiaceae

ABSTRACT

The methanolic and n-hexane extracts of studied plants showed significant toxicity to brine shrimps. The methanolic extract of Fagonia cretica had highest LD[50] [117.72] value, while Peganum harmala showed low LD[50] value [41.70] compared to n-hexane extract. The methanolic and n-hexane extracts of Tribulus terrestris showed similar LD[50] values. The methanolic extract of Chrozophora tinctoria showed low LD[50] value than the n-hexane extract. The methanolic extract of Ricinus communis showed highest LD[50] value while the n-hexane extract showed lowest LD[50] value. The LD[50] value less than 100 was obtained for n-hexane extracts of Fagonia cretica, Peganum harmala and Ricinus communis. The n-hexane extracts of these plants also showed the highest toxicity as compare to methanolic extracts. The chemical constituents detected in the present investigation might be responsible for cytotoxic activity