ANTI-CANCER POTENTIAL OF MORUSINDICA HYBRID VARIETIES IN HT-29 CANCER CELL LINES: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Complementary alternative medicine focuses on discovering the potential of plants in prevention and management of chronic diseases. Although Morus species has been screened for various biological activities, studies reporting the pharmacological effects of Morus indica (MI) hybrid varieties viz., V1 and S36 is scarce. This study focused on screening the phytochemical composition of Morus indica V1 (MV1) and Morus indica S36 (MS36) and evaluate its antioxidant and anti-cancer potential. The qualitative analyses revealed the presence of all major phytochemicals except alkaloids. The results of the quantitative analyses showed a better phytochemical profile in MV1 than MS36 and the values differed significantly (p<0.05). The antioxidant activity was higher in methanol extracts of both the MI varieties followed by ethanol and aqueous extracts since the extractability of phytochemicals are higher in organic solvents. MV1 had a better phytochemical profile compared to MS36 and therefore was selected for screening the in-vitro anti-cancer properties. Among the methanol and aqueous extract of MV1, aqueous extract had the lowest IC₅₀ value viz., 55 µg/mL. The results of apoptotic activity of aqueous extract of MI at a dosage of 160 µg/mL revealed induction of late apoptosis and higher cell deathin HT-29 cell lines than the standard drug colchicine at 20µM concentration. Results indicate the potential of Morus indica hybrid variety MV1 as a source for nutraceutical compounds with anti-cancer properties. The study paves a way for further screening and isolation of compounds with anti-cancer and other vital biological activities.