Unfolding the Cytotoxic Potential of Cassia siamea L. (Fabaceae) Stem via a Combination of Cost-Effective Anticancer Screening Templates

Abstract

Cassia siamea (SB) is a common medicinal plant in Southwestern Nigeria, known for its usage in the management of cancer among locals. The study aimed to unveil the claimed anticancer property of SB using cytotoxic bench-top bioassays. Cytotoxicity potential was investigated using Raniceps raninus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae bioassay models, and radical scavenging strength against DPPH stable radical was also unfolded. SB fractionation resulted in three bulked column fractions (SB1 – 3). SB1 was observed to induce severe DNA damage with a percentage mortality of 75.21±5.85%, which is significantly different from 21.85±7.30% p<0.05 observed with 5% DMSO (NC; negative control). The concentration-dependent increase in the mortality of R. raninus, which is an indication of its cytotoxic influence, was noted with SB1 at 10 – 50 µg/mL with 100.00±0.00% mortality observed at 40 and 50 µg/mL. SB1A obtained from SB1 showed the presence of 16 compounds (GC-MS analysis), with caffeic acid found to be the most abundant. Further fractionation of SB1B (obtained from SB1) resulted in pure compound SB1B3 (15.78 mg), which exhibited about 69.82±8.82% mortality of the S.cerevisiae p<0.05 relative to the NC. SB1B3 at 5 – 25 µg/mL also showed 100.00±0.00% mortality of R. raninus at p<0.05 relative to Although the identity of the SB1B3 is yet to be ascertained. The findings of this research confirm that SB possesses cytotoxic potential as claimed by locals.