Cytotoxic activities against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of Trachelospermum jasminoides extracts in vitro

The present study investigated the cytotoxic activities against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells, and the potential antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of the extracts of the aerial parts of Trachelospermum jasminoides, a traditional medicinal plant used for the treatment of rheumatic arthralgia in China. In MTT assay and microscopic analysis, the ethyl acetate extract (EAE) of T. jasminoides showed moderate cytotoxic effect against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 with IC50 values of 109.54 ± 2.39 μg/mL and 162.68 ± 9.52 μg/mL, respectively, but the water extract (WE) was inactive against both of them. With gallic acid and rutine as equivalents for determination, the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents in the EAE (54.93 ± 0.32 mg GAE/g and 186.75 ± 4.55 mg RE/g, respectively) were higher than those of the WE. The antioxidant activities of the EAE and WE, which were evaluated by reducing power assay, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging assay and hydroxyl radical scavenging assay, may be directly associated with the high contents of phenols and flavonoids in T. jasminoides. The EAE showed higher inhibitory effect in the α-glucosidase inhibition tests with an IC50 value of 776.81 ± 107.80 μg/mL as compared to the WE with 2607.48 ± 364.31 μg/mL. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity and the inhibitory effects of the fractions against α-glucosidase were concentration-dependent.