Cell Growth Inhibition, Toxicity Assessment, and Correlation between Chemical Composition of Aqueous and Organic Extracts of Ajuga Iva Subsp. Pseudoiva (DC.) Bric. and their Biological Activities

Abstract

The inhibitory activity of cell growth and the acute toxicity of aqueous extracts (decocted, infused, and macerated) and organic extracts obtained with different solvents were evaluated for a medicinal plant widely used in Moroccan traditional medicine: Ajuga iva subsp. Pseudoiva (DC.) Briq collected in the region of Taza in Morocco. The inhibitory activity of cell growth was evaluated by the Lepidium sativum phytotest, and the relationship between this inhibitory activity and the phenolic composition of the plant (total polyphenols, flavonoids, catechetical tannins) was carried out by the principal component analysis (PCA). For the acute toxicity study, mice were divided into three groups (n=6); the control group received distilled water, while the other groups received a single experimental dose of 2000 mg/kg of aqueous extract (macerated) and organic extract (methanolic macerated) by mouth. The phytotest results, the methanolic macerated showed the best cell growth inhibitory activity with IC50=320.43±8.96µg/ml, followed by methanolic extract IC50= 375.77±17.53µg/ml. PCA showed a positive correlation between cell growth inhibitory activity measured by the phytotest and total phenols (r = 0.9818), flavonoids (r = 0.7263), and tannins (r = 0.5054). For the acute toxicity study, mice treated with both macerates aqueous and organic (methanolic) with the dose of 2000 mg/kg showed no toxicological signs. Indeed, no modification of the behavior of the mice or of their body weight was noted after the administration of the 2 extracts during the observation period.