Abstract
Background: Natural remedies used for the treatment of liver diseases have a major concernworldwide. Objectives: Evaluation of the cytotoxic potential of successive fractions of two Aizoaceae plants; Trianthema portulacastrum L. and Aizoon canariense L. against human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines. Moreover, metabolomic profiling of the successive fractions of both plants was carried out. Materials and Methods: Cytotoxic activity of successive fractions of the two plants against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) HepG2 cell lines were evaluated using viability assay, whereas metabolomic profiling was carried out using Liquid Chromatography High-Resolution ElectroSpray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (LC-HR-ESI-MS). Results: Significant cytotoxic activity of the n-hexane and n-butanol extracts of A. canariense (24.7 +/- 3.5 and 55.3 +/- 4.9 mu g/mL, respectively) is recorded. On the other hand, metabolomic profiling of both plants resulted in dereplication of 27 metabolites belonging to different chemical classes; for example, sterols, flavonoids, diterpenes, triterpenes, tetraterpenes, alkaloids, lignans, hydrocarbons, and nucleosides. Phytochemical study of the biologically active fractions resulted in the isolation of one new compound; kaempferol-3-O-(2''-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-6''-O-E-feruloyl-beta-D-glucopyranosid (T1). Biological testing of the isolated compounds indicated significant activity of T1 against HCC (IC50 =7.19 +/- 0.27 mu g/mL). Conclusion: Phytochemicals isolated from T. portulacastrum L and A. canariense L. may be responsible for their cytotoxic activity against HCC HepG2 cell lines.