Cytotoxic activities of Thai laxative medicinal plant recipe extract against colon cancer cells

Trichintalamaga (TCG) recipe was discovered in Thai Phamacy scripture. This recipe has shown noteworthy lymphatic treat, which is closely related to its anticancer properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate cytotoxic activities of TCG recipe and its fractions using the SRB assay. The assay was performed on human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines (LS 174T and SW 480). The ethanolic extract of TCG recipe was separated by using vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC). Different fractions were collected and tested for cytotoxic activity. The active fraction was identified for compounds using liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The ethanolic extract of TCG recipe showed the specific cytotoxicity against LS174T and SW 480 cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 0.51 ± 0.01 and 0.51 ± 0.02 µg/ml, respectively. After liquid-liquid partitioning sequence, the chloroform fraction showed the highest cytotoxicity against LS174T and SW 480 cells lines with IC₅₀ values of 0.45 ± 0.04 and 0.51 ± 0.07 µg/ml, respectively. Fifteen compounds were isolated using LC-ESI-MS/MS guided isolation method. We concluded that major cytotoxic component should be isolated from the chloroform fraction. Therefore, these results support the use of Trichintalamaga recipe as an anticancer drug.