Allophylus cobbe (L.) Raeusch. belonging to the family Sapindaceae, is a commonly distributed small shrub in Western Ghats of India previously reported for its traditional medicinal properties. It is used for the treatment of various ailments. The present study is aimed at investigating preliminary phytochemicals, inducing the determination of the total phenolic contents, antioxidant assays and anticancer activity of A. cobbe leaf extracts on (DU-145) and (PC-3) cell lines. Preliminary phytochemical screening showed a broad spectrum of secondary metabolites. Highest amount of phenolic content was present in aqueous extract (91.96 ± 0.61 mg/g GAE) and it also proved to have the most potent antioxidant activity at a concentration of 100 mg/ml (64.71 ± 0.15%). IC50 value was (431.10 ± 15.05 µg/mL) for DU-145 and (362.08 ± 24.17 µg/mL) for PC-3 cell lines while the standard drug paclitaxel showed an IC50 value of 0.3 µM/mL. Morphological changes was observed in cancerous cells undergoing apoptosis in human prostate cancer cell lines (DU-145 and PC-3) while the extract showed no cytotoxicity towards normal cells (MEF-L929). It can be concluded that the tested extracts holds significant antioxidant and anticancer activities. However further investigation on lead compounds of A. cobbe will enable its therapeutic use.
Keywords: Allophylus cobbe; Anticancer; Antioxidant; Phytochemicals; Prostate cancer.