STEROLS BIOACTIVITY OF RUTA GRAVEOLENS L. AND MURRAYA PANICULATA L.

Abstract

<p><strong>Objective: </strong><em>Ruta graveolens </em>L. (<em>R. graveolens</em>) and <em>Murraya paniculata </em>L. (<em>M. paniculata</em>) are medicinal plants belonging to Rutaceae family have many uses in traditional medicine. The aim of the present study was to investigate sterols bioactivity of the two Rutaceae plant leaves.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Sterols of the two Rutaceae plant leaves were identified using GC/MS. The antioxidant activities of the sterols of these herbs were evaluated by three different methods; free radical scavenging using 2,2′-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) and total antioxidant activity. The anticancer activity of the sterols was determined by MTT assay against colorectal cancer HCT116, breast cancer MCF7, liver cancer HepG2 and lung cancer A549 cell lines. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated using albumin denaturation assay and antiviral activities against H5N1 virus were carried out using plaque reduction assay.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>GC/MS assay showed β-Sitosterol (36%) as the most abundant sterols of <em>R. graveolens</em> followed by stigmasterol (18%), while stigmasterol (25.2%) was the most abundant one of <em>M. paniculata</em> steroids. The anti-inflammatory potential of <em>R. graveolens</em> steroids was significantly higher than that of diclofenac sodium (standard drug). <em>M. paniculata</em> sterols have higher antiviral activity (IC₅₀= 0.15 of µg/ml) than <em>R. graveolens</em> sterols (IC₅₀= 7.8 of µg/ml). The sterols of <em>R. graveolens</em> showed anticancer activity against MCF7 and A549 cells with inhibition 84.3 and 81%, at 100 µg/ml respectively. While <em>M. paniculata</em> sterols showed 77.3% inhibition against A549 cells.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The current study suggests that the sterols of <em>M. paniculata</em> have more anti-viral activity than <em>R. graveolens</em> sterols which showed more anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities.</p>