Anti-cervical cancer potentials and GC-MS analysis of Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf and Origanum vulgare Linn.Extracts

Cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of death among women worldwide and many conventional drugs have several side effects and poor selectivity in cancer treatment. In this study, the cytotoxic potentials of C. citratus(CC) and O. vulgare(OV) extracts were assessed as a probable source of natural products for the treatment of cervical cancer. The crude extracts and fractions were challenged against cervical (HeLa) cancer cell line using MTT assay. The phytochemical components present in the extracts were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).The CC crude exhibited the highest inhibition on the growth of HeLa (CC50=43.43±0.05 µg/mL) as compared with OV crude (170.2±0.11 µg/mL). The CC fractions’ potentials were in the order of n-hexane (3.81±0.22 µg/mL) ˃dichloromethane (DCM) (5.44±0.16 µg/mL)˃aqueous (38.57±0.12 µg/mL)˃ethylacetate (50.24±0.05 µg/mL). Similarly, OV fractions’ potentials were in the order of n-hexane (57.95±0.12 µg/mL)˃DCM (61.63±0.07 µg/mL)˃ethylacetate (172.4±0.21 µg/mL)˃aqueous (176±0.14 µg/mL).These results were compared with vincristine (standard) with aCC50 value of 0.75±0.14 µg/mL.The major compounds present in CC aqueous extract with their percentage composition includeCyclohexasiloxane,dodecamethyl-(20.79%),Cycloheptasiloxane,tetradecamethyl-(17.93%), Cyclopentasiloxane, decamethyl-(15.04%), Cyclooctasiloxane, hexadecamethyl-(8.98%). OV aqueous extract revealed Hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester(24.71%), 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z)-, methyl ester(22.52%), Methyl stearate(15.40%), 9-Octadecenoic acid (Z)-, methyl ester(11.56%), as its major compounds.Our results suggest that the CC and OV plants are a favorable source of natural products with promising properties for anti-cervical drug discovery.