Phytochemical investigation and anticancer assessment of Chlorophytum krookianum

Plants have long been recognized as a rich source for medicinal agents, albeit many plant species have yet to be investigated. The genus Chlorophytum comprises over 215 species of perennial, rhizomatous herbs. The chemical composition and bioactivities of Chlorophytum krookianum remain uncharacterized in the existing scholar literature. This work investigates the phytochemistry and anticancer potential of C. krookianum. Phytochemical investigation of the unexplored C. krookianum aerial parts afforded the isolation and identification of eight compounds: β-sitosterol (1), stigmasterol (2), β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), hydroxytyrosol (4), isovitexin (5), vicenin 2 (6), (25S)-gitonin (7), and vitexin-2″-O-rhamnoside (8). Dichloromethane and n-hexane fractions of C. krookianum aerial parts exhibited anticancer activity against breast (MDA-MB-231) and tongue (HNO-97) carcinoma cell lines. GC–MS analysis of the n-hexane fraction afforded the tentative identification of 41 metabolites with methyl palmitate, methyl 2,4-dimethyltetradecanoate, 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone, lanosterol, and 13-docosenamide as major compounds. C. krookianum aerial parts, particularly the dichloromethane and n-hexane fractions, could be a potential source for anticancer activity as significant percentage inhibitions are obtained.