Antimitotic activity of averrhoa bilimbi L. (belimbing buluh) fruits extract in allium cepa root cells / Siti Fatin Sobirah Mohd Sharulzaman

Throughout the years, the number of medically certified cancer keeps on increasing making cancer as the third leading cause of premature death in Malaysia. An antimitotic agent is a type of drug that inhibits cell growth by preventing mitosis and is used to cure cancer. In previous studies, Averrhoa bilimbi fruits have been proved to have many antioxidants compounds making it useful in many ways to treat disease. There are numerous studies on the phytochemical screening of A. bilimbi fruits. However, there is still no report concerning the antimitotic activity of A. bilimbi fruits. Hence, in present study, potential antimitotic activity of aqueous and methanol extract of A. bilimbi fruits in three different concentrations (20 mg/ml, 30 mg/ml, 40mg/ml) was measured in actively dividing Allium cepa root tip cells, and compared with the negative control (distilled water). The A. cepa roots were immersed in the aqueous and methanol extract of A. bilimbi fruits for 72 hours. One thousand cells per replicate were observed microscopically to calculate the percentage of mitotic index (MI). A one-way ANOVA showed that there was a significant decrease in the mitotic index (MI) of aqueous and methanol extract on the mitotic activity (p<0.001) of A. cepa roots. Between all groups, 40 mg/ml of methanol extract yields the lowest percentage of mitotic index (7.78%). The antimitotic activity of A. bilimbi may be due to its potential antioxidant properties particularly by the main role of phytochemicals. In conclusion, both aqueous and methanol extract shows antimitotic activity against actively dividing cells. This finding suggests that A. bilimbi fruits may be a new candidate for cancer treatment. Thus, further study needs to be conducted to determine the anticancer potential.