Anticancer and antiretroviral activities of methanolic extract from Theobroma cacao L pod husk: focusing on the ethyl acetate partition

Abstract

Background: Many researchers have paid attention to Theobroma cocoa pod husk for its bioactive phytoconstituents which have several medicinal benefits. Herein, we aim to evaluate the methanolic extract from T. cocoa pod husk and its partitions for their anticancer and antiretroviral activities. Methods: The T. cocoa pod husk was macerated using methanol, and then sequentially partitioned with n-hexane and ethyl acetate. MCF-7 and HeLa cells were used to assess the anticancer activities, while the simian retrovirus-2 (SRV-2)-infected A549 cells were used for antiretroviral study. The ethyl acetate partition (TCEA) was then fractionated and screened for in-vitro antioxidant and cytotoxicity. The most active fraction was sub-fractionated and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). Results: The results suggested that TCEA had moderate and weak activities against MCF-7 (IC50=53.91 μg/mL) and HeLa cells (IC50=120.71 μg/mL), respectively. TCEA 125 μg/mL had higher anti-SRV-2 activity in comparison with lamivudine 25 μg/mL after 1—7 days of incubation. The GC-MS analysis of the polyphenol-predominated sub-fraction from the most active fraction revealed the presence of lupeol, syringaresinol, catechol, and squalene. Conclusions: TCEA derived from the methanolic extract of T. cacao pod husk had moderate activity against MCF-7 cells and weak activity against HeLa cells. Antiretroviral study suggests that TCEA 125 μg/mL had higher inhibitory activity against SRV-2 replication as compared to lamivudine 25 μg/mL.

Toxicity of methanolic extract from cocoa pod husk (Theobroma cacao L) using brine shrimp lethality test (BSLT)

“…Theobroma cacao extract (TCEA) exhibited weak cytotoxicity against HeLa cells and moderate to MCF-7 cells. Additionally, the ethyl acetate extract with a concentration of 125 μg/mL demonstrated higher anti-SRV-2 activity than 25 μg/mL of lamivudine [17]. In this study, TCM extract was extracted with acetone to obtain Theobroma cacao acetone (TCA) extract.…”