Anticancer and Apoptotic Effects of Hymenodictyon floribundum (Hochst. & Steud.) B.L.Rob. Stem Bark Hydroethanolic Extract

Purpose The present study aimed to examine in vitro anticancer and apoptotic effects of the 80% ethanolic extract of Hymenodictyon floribundum and isolated compounds on A549 human lung cancer cell lines. Furthermore, isolated compounds and crude extract were investigated for their antimicrobial activity against Aspergillus niger , Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis , Escherichia coli, Candida albicans , and Staphylococcus aureus . Methods The anticancer activity was examined by trypan blue exclusion and MTT assays. Flow cytometry was used to assess apoptosis using the Annexin V-FITC/PI technique, the antimicrobial activity was assessed by using Broth microdilution method against six pathogenic microbes. The GC–MS, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, and mass spectral data were used to elucidate the structure of isolated compounds. Results The study resulted in the isolation of two compounds, 7-Hydroxy-6- methoxycoumarin (A) and 2,2,4-Trimethyl-3-(3,8,12,16-tetramethyl-heptadeca-3,7,11,15-tetraenyl)-cyclohexanol (K). The compound A and K inhibited the growth of A549 lung cancer cell lines with IC 50 values of 77.56 µg/mL and 92.13 µg/mL, respectively. The anticancer effects of compounds A and K were due to early and late apoptotic cell death induction. Compounds A and K exhibited potential antimicrobial activity against all microbes tested. The highest antimicrobial activity was shown by compound A against S. aureus with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 62.5 µg/mL. Conclusion These findings provide evidence that the stem bark extract of H. florubundum contains compounds with both anticancer and antimicrobial activity. The isolated compounds were found to possess antimicrobial activity and inhibit the growth of A549-Human lung cancer cells by inducing apoptosis.