Screening of Extracts of a Cyanobacterium Scytonema schmidtii Gom for Antineoplastic Activity

 A cyanobacterium Scytonema schmidtii was isolated from the soil samples that were gathered from several sites throughout the Ahmednagar district. Morphological features and taxonomical methods in accordance with Desikachary were used for identification. Scytonema schmidtii's axenic culture was acquired in a lab. BG-11 medium was used to produce biomass. The biomass was collected by filtering it through two layers of muslin cloth, then it was dried with an air blower and shade. In order to isolate Scytonema schmidtii cultures, soil samples were enriched in BG-11 medium. Repeated liquid transfers of tiny amounts of material were used to create axenic cultures of Scytonema schmidtii, which were then treated with antibiotics (streptomycin, chloramphenicol, and penicillin (10 mg ml-1). Several solvents with differing polarities, including hexane, chloroform, methanol, and distilled water, were used in the extraction process. The biomass of Scytonema schmidtii samples that had been pulverized was weighed and added to each solvent in a 1:10 (w/v) ratio in order to extract metabolites.  Three separate extraction filtrations were performed using Whatman paper, and the filtrates that were produced were gathered. MTT assays revealed that HeLa cells treated with methanol, chloroform, hexane, and aqueous extracts had a dose-dependent reduction in cell viability. HeLa cells were treated for 24, 48, and 72 hours before being exposed to 80–150 µg/ml of methanol and aqueous extract. Cell death that was dose-dependent was the outcome.The number of viable cells decreased as the quantity of different Scytonema schmidtii extracts rose. At a concentration of 55 µg/ml of aqueous extract, half of the cells died.