PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTI-CANCER STUDY OF ETHYLACETATE EXTRACTS OF TWO AFRICAN Tapinanthus SPECIES

Cancer- a multifaceted disease- is one of the leading causes of mortality in the world and breast cancer is currently a significant global health issue. Cancer cells in general have developed resistance to most of the existing therapies. Tapinanthus species have been reported for treatment cancer by traditional healers in Africa. For this study, ethylacetate extracts of Tapianthus buntigii growing on Citrus paradise and Tapinanthus dodoneifolius hosted by Parkia biglobosa were screened for phytochemical constituents and anticancer potentials against MDA-MB-231, an a aggressive cancer cell line using MTT assay. The result of phytochemical screening revealed presence of steroids, saponins and cardiac glycosides but absence of tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids, and flavonoids. The extracts showed comparable anticancer activities against the cell line. From the results of this study, it is concluded that the Tapinanthus species could be reservoirs for potent anticancer drugs or lead compounds.