Antiamylase, Antilipase, Antimicrobial, and Cytotoxic Activity of (Willd.) DC. from Palestine.

BACKGROUND

Medicinal plants are widely used in many cultures, traditions, and civilizations worldwide. Plants with high contents of the valuable biological compounds can efficiently cure many diseases. This study is aimed at assessing, for the first time, the anti--amylase, antilipase, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic activities of (Willd.) DC. of five extracts from Palestine.

METHODS

The antimicrobial activity was estimated using well diffusion method for plant of five extracts against eight ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) and clinical isolates. The cytotoxic effects for these extracts were evaluated against HeLa (cervical) carcinoma cells using MTS (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium) assay. Moreover, the lipase and -amylase inhibitory properties were determined using standard biomedical assays.

RESULTS

The acetone extract of plant showed a more potent -amylase inhibitory compared with acarbose with IC values of 25.7 ± 0.08 and 28.18 ± 1.22 g/ml, respectively. Additionally, the acetone and methanol extracts revealed moderate antilipase activity compared to orlistat with IC values of 30.19 ± 0.11, 33.11 ± 0.13, and 12.3 ± 0.35 g/ml, respectively. The methylene chloride extract was found to inhibit the growth of all the tested bacterial and fungal strains and also found to have potential cytotoxic effect against HeLa cancer cell line.

CONCLUSION

This research work reports for the first time the biological activity of from Palestine, and the results were promising indicating that extracts contain valuable bioactive molecules that have a potential anti--amylase, antilipase, antibacterial, and antifungal cytotoxic potentials. Therefore, could have a medical significance in the future.