Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research

Reducing cancer risk and enhancing treatments and antioxidant defenses may help to reduce severe COVID-19 outcomes, especially among high-risk populations. Also, most cytotoxic plants are known for biological activities, particularly anticancer properties. Thus, this study investigates the secondary metabolites, antioxidant activity, and cytotoxicity of ethanol and saponin extracts derived from Zanthozylum zanthozyloides shoots. The plant ethanol shoot extract was screened for chemical components using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The saponin extract obtained from the ethanol extract was subjected to in-vitro antioxidant activity via 2, 2-Diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), nitric oxide (NO), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) radical scavenging properties in comparison to ascorbic acid. The plant cytotoxic potential was evaluated using brine shrimp lethality (BSL) assay and compared to doxorubicin. The chemical analysis revealed the presence of bioactive components such as D-limonene, caparratriene, chloroacetic acid, dodec-9-ynyl ester, and vitamin E. Antioxidant assays demonstrated that the ethanol extract exhibited significant (p<0.05) DPPH scavenging activity (33.42 μg/mL), outsurpassing the saponin extract (42.88 μg/mL) but comparable to ascorbic acid (39.32 μg/mL). Similar results were observed in NO (32.44 μg/mL) and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays (39.91 μg/mL). Furthermore, the extracts showed a notable cytotoxic potential in the BSL assay. The saponin extract (LC50 of 78.69 μg/mL) and the ethanol extract (LC50 of 88.25 μg/mL) were significantly (p<0.05) less potent than doxorubicin (LC550 of 8.62 μg/mL). These findings indicate that Z. zanthozyloides possesses bioactive compounds with antioxidant and cytotoxic properties that could reduce the severity of COVID-19 in cancer-prone individuals and frontline medical personnel.