EVALUATION OF THE CYTOTOXICITY POTENTIAL OF ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF CHRYSOPHYLLUM CAINITO USING THE BRINE SHRIMP LETHALITY BIOASSAY

Philippines has rich floral biodiversity accompanied with an abundant source of
medicinal plants easily accessible in the locality. In terms of ethno-medical properties, Chrysophyllum cainito has been used to treat various diseases. In this study, C. cainito
leaves were collected and evaluated for cytotoxicity using the Brine Shrimp Lethality
Bioassay. The leaves were extracted with water, 50:50 ethanol-water, and absolute ethanol to produce the decoction, hydro-ethanolic, and ethanolic extracts respectively. Four concentrations (10, 100, 500, 1000 μg/ml) of the extracts were prepared and tested. The mortality rates of the brine shrimp were observed after 6 and 24 hours. The results showed that all the prepared extracts exhibited active biological activities with the ethanolic and hydro-ethanolic extracts exhibiting greater activities compared to the decoction. The ethanolic and hydro-ethanolic extracts showed toxicity effects after 24-h exposures with LC values of 25.85, respectively. The results indicate that the use of absolute ethanol and 50:50 ethanolwater may have successfully extracted the bioactive compounds in the that
have acted on the brine shrimp. The presence of active components in the extracts
indicated the potential of as an alternative medicine and hence requires further
tests to qualitatively identify the bioactive compounds.