Anticancer Effect of Aqueous and Ethanol Extracts of Pepper Fruit (Dennettia tripetala) on the Morphology of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Line

Cancer is a multifactorial disease caused by combined genetic and non-genetic changes. Breast cancer being the second leading cause of death in women. A large percentage of known anticancer medicines are derived from various plant species. Dennettia tripetala has been found to contain vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that possess anticancer properties. The study was aimed at examining the anticancer activity of aqueous and ethanol extract of Dennettia tripetala fruit on the morphology MCF-7 cell lines. 150 g of the ground fruit was soaked in 1.5 L of distilled water and ethanol to produce aqueous and ethanol extracts respectively. Both extracts obtained were concentrated to 6.25, 12.5 and 25.0 µg/ml. Cell viability was determined using trypan blue and hemocytometer while morphological changes were examined, by using an inverted microscope. MCF-7 cell was cultured and subcultured at confluence before treating with, 5-fluorouracil drug as positive control, dimethyl sulfoxide as negative control and the extracts of Dennettia tripetala. Cell viability decreased significantly in a dose-time manner. Morphological observation showed distortion of the MCF-7 cell, after treatment with the extracts, especially at 25 µg/ml after 48 and 72 hrs. In conclusion, Dennettia tripetala fruit have potency to decrease the viability and result in morphological damage of MCF-7 cancer cells.

Key Words: Dennettia tripetala; cancer; cell viability; MCF-7 cell lines; trypan blue