An insight into bioactive compounds of Emblica officinalis Modulating immune cell activity against cancer cells

Abstract

ABSTRACT newlineCancer continues to be a worldwide killer, despite the enormous amount of research and rapid developments seen during the past decade. The treatment of cancer by modification of the host-tumor relationship was originally known as immunotherapy . Medicinal plants serve as natural pool for therapeutics and are central in folklore medicine. The Phyllanthus emblica fruit (known as Emblica officinalis) has been used in traditional medicine for generations to treat symptoms ranging from constipation to the treatment of tumors. E. officinalis is known to have various bioactive compounds such as tannins, alkaloids and phenolic compounds, attributing to their antioxidant potential. In the current study, the methanolic extract of amla fruit was sequentially fractionated using various solvents like chloroform, ethyl acetate and butanol to prepare partially purified fractions. These fractions of E. officinalis responsible for immunomodulating properties were evaluated on human immune cells. Furthermore, antioxidant potential of E. officinalis extract/fractions was evaluated using chemical and cellular based assays. Phytochemical screening revealed that ethyl acetate fraction of E. officinalis has highest content of phenols (213.37±0.148 mg GAE/g), flavonoids (142.64±0.011 mg QE/g) and tannins (9.91±0.004 mg CE/g) as compared to other fractions. DPPH radical scavenging potential was found to be highest in ethyl acetate fraction (IC50 12.14±0.11), followed by butanol fraction (IC50 14.89±0.03). Similarly, Total antioxidant capacity as measured by ABTS assay showed that ethyl acetate fraction exhibited best activity (IC50=16.93±0.08), followed by butanol fraction (IC50=30.84±0.02). Furthermore, the ferric reducing capability and NO scavenging activity was found to be highest in ethyl acetate fraction, followed by butanol fraction. Cellular antioxidant assay conducted in HeLa cells revealed that ethyl acetate fraction (IC50=53.56±0.04) exhibited highest antioxidant capacity in a cell based system as compared to other