Abstract
The current study was designed to evaluate the therapeutic benefits of Musa paradisiaca L. pseudostem exudate including antioxidant, antitumor, and antimicrobial activities in vitro. Antioxidant activity determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging system. Antitumor activity performed on hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG-2) and human colon carcinoma (HCT-116), the antiviral activity of exudate was determined using cytopathic effect assay. Exudate showed good antioxidant activity where the value of IC50 was 2.2 mu l. Antitumor activity reveals that the exudate is a good antitumor source with IC50 29.4 mu l and 29.4 mu l for HepG-2 and HCT-116 cell lines respectively. Exudate at 100 mu l exhibited the highest cytotoxicity towards HCT-116 and HepG-2 cell line with inhibition 86.53and 79.06% respectively. From the obtained results, we could infer that the exudate does not have any antifungal effect on Aspergillus fumigatus (RCMB 002008), Candida albicans RCMB 005003, Candida tropicalis RCMB 005004 (1), Cryptococcus neoformas RCMB 0049001, Microsporum canis (RCMB 0834), and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (RCMB 0925) while antibacterial activity was observed on tested Gr + ve and Gr-ve bacteria. Cytopathic effect exhibited weak antivirus against hepatitis A virus, while showing no antiviral against herpes simplex virus. Phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of active compounds like alkaloids, flavanoids, anthraquinone, cardiac glycoside, and phlobotannins in the pseudostem exudate of M. paradisiacal L. Altogether, these results suggest that the pseudostem exudate could be used as a potential antioxidant along with its antitumor and antibacterial agent.