Cytotoxic potential of the preparations from Solanum trilobatum and the effect of sobatum on tumour reduction in mice.

Plant Solanum trilobatum was washed, powdered and used for extraction. The lyophilized aqueous extracted portion was tested for in vitro cytotoxicity by tissue culture technique using L929 and Vero cells. Petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethanol were used for extraction and the extracted portions were subjected to in vitro tissue culture studies. It was shown that petroleum ether extract induced remarkable cytotoxicity, when compared to all other extracts with an LD50 of 7.0 microg in L929 and 5.8 microg in Vero cells. Further fractionated portions of petroleum ether extract (by adsorption chromatography) underwent tissue culture assay, and results suggest that petroleum ether/ethyl acetate (75:25) extractable portion is the most active fraction, named as sobatum, which induced an LD50 of 7.0 microg in L929 and 7.5 microg in Vero cells. Sobatum significantly inhibit the peritoneal tumours induced by Dalton's lymphoma ascites (DLA) and Ehrlich ascites (EA) tumour cell. The effect was more prominent when sobatum was administered orally as evidenced from the increased percentage of life span. Sobatum, the partially purified portion of Solanum trilobatum, was again fractionated by column chromatography and all the residues were concentrated and crystallized from methanol, giving only one pure crystalline compound, that was identified as Beta-sitosterol by comparing with authentic sample.