Abstract
The aim of this work is to determine the cytotoxic activities of Terminalia arjuna (Family: Combretaceae) by brine shrimp lethality bioassay. The leaves of Terminalia arjuna were extracted with methanol and the methanolic extract was fractionated into three fractions by using organic solvents like n-hexane, ethyl acetate and chloroform. The n-hexane, ethyl acetate and chloroform soluble fractions of methanolic crude extract were screened for antitumor properties using brine shrimp lethality bioassay. A reputed cytotoxic agent vincristine sulphate was used as a positive control. From the results of the brine shrimp lethality bioassay it could be well predicted that n-hexane, ethyl acetate and chloroform soluble fractions of Terminalia arjuna leaves possess cytotoxic principles (LC50 1.29 mu g/mL, 1.5 mu g/mL and 1.23 mu g/mL respectively) comparison with positive control, vincristine sulphate (LC50 0.563 mu g/mL).