Anti Ovarian and Cervical Cancer Potential of Tamarindus Indica Leaf Ethanol Crude Extract and Its Bioactive Fraction, Apigenin

Cervical and ovarian cancers account for the majority of deaths among women.Due to the failure of conventional therapies to completely cure these diseases, research has shifted focus to traditional and plant-based medicines.This study aimed to assess the potential anticancer activity of tamarind leaf extract on ovarian cancer PA-1 and cervical cancer HeLa cell lines.The extract was prepared using Soxhlet equipment with ethanol as the solvent and fractionated using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) under bioassay guidance.Anticancer activity was determined through in vitro tests, including MTT assay, fluorescence microscopy, trypan blue assay, LDH activity assay, caspase-9 activity assay, analysis of DNA fragmentation, Annexin V/PI staining and flow cytometry.Bioactive compound characterization was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) followed by NIST library search, to understand the underlying principles behind the anticancer attributes of tamarind leaf.The results revealed that treatment with tamarind leaf ethanol extract drastically reduced HeLa and PA-1 cell viabilities to 26.8% and 11.9%, respectively, after 72 hours.The yellow fraction (TLYF) of the extract was identified as the bioactive component through bioassay-guided fractionation.Trypan blue assay results showed cell concentrations reduced to 1.310 5 and 1.210 5 cells/mL compared to about 3.610 5 cells/mL in control HeLa and PA-1 cells.Cell cycle analysis demonstrated that TLYF reduced overall cell count, with a significant decrease in S and G2/M phases, and increased percentage of cells (50.9 and 18.8%) in early and late apoptotic stages as per annexin V/PI staining.Caspase assay confirmed apoptosis initiation through caspase-9 activation in cancer cells induced by TLYF.According to GC-MS data, apigenin, an anticancer compound reported in several fruits, was found in tamarind leaf.It can be assumed that apigenin in tamarind leaf might be the reason for its profound antiproliferative effects against cancer cells.