Antioxidant and cytotoxic potential of cardamom, Amomum subulatum plant extract in vitro

Amomum subulatum (cardamom) is a medicinal plant rich in bioactive compounds and widely used for its therapeutic benefits, although excessive intake may cause adverse effects such as allergies, hypertension, and sleep disturbances. To evaluate the phytochemical content, antioxidant activity, and cytotoxicity of A. subulatum extract, the crude alcoholic extract of black cardamom was obtained with the aid of ethanol.cold infusion method. The total flavonoid content was determined according to the aluminium chloride method using quercetin as a standard. The total antioxidant phosphate was measured in the supernatant by phosphomolybdate assay. Human melanoma A375 and normal human dermal fibroblast (HdFn) were employed to evaluate at different concentrations of the extracts and reacting to to induce. determine anticancer selectivity. The analyses indicate that cardamom contains a considerable concentration of phenolic compounds, particularly flavonoids (412.5 mg/ml).The titration curve of quercetin was highly linear at 450 nm (R² = 0.9995).Phytochemical screening shows that the contents of flavonoids, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, terpenes, polyphenols and glycosides.The total antioxidant capacity increased with increasing methanolic extract concentration, peaking at 150 μg/ml, comparable to that of vitamin C. A dose dependent inhibition of growth was observed in A375 melanoma cells using the cytotoxicity test, where cell viability decreased from 93.98% at 25 micrograms/ml to 52.20% at 400 micrograms/ml , compared to normal dermal fibroblasts, which showed a higher survival percentage across all other concentrations tested. The methanolic extract of black cardamom may represent a potential natural therapeutic candidate, as it appears to be rich in phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and terpenes. Furthermore, it demonstrates notable antioxidant activity and may contribute to reducing oxidative stress, with possible selective protective effects at the cellular level.