Isolation of Isoquercetin and Astragalin from Iraqi Moringa Oleifera Leaves and its Cytotoxic Activity Against Colon Cancer Cell Line (Caco-2)

Abstract

Moringa oleifera Lam.  belongs to the Moringaceae family. It was reported to be able to treat over 300 diseases, the leaves and seed crude extracts have been proven to exhibit cytotoxic and antioxidant activities. The presence of a high quantity of flavonoids and other polyphenols in the leaves of this plant was attributed to the antioxidant activity of the leaf extracts. The present study involved the isolation of Quercetin-3-O-glucoside (isoquercetin) and kaempferol-3-O-glucoside (astragalin) from the Leaves of Iraqi Moringa oleifera and identification of compounds using chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. The isolated isoquercetin and astragalin was tested for cytotoxicity against a colon cancer cell line (Caco-2), using the MTT cell viability assay and compared against a standard anticancer drug. The isolated astragalin showed significant cytotoxicity against the Caco-2 cell line with an IC50 of 11µM, while the isolated isoquercetin showed moderate cytotoxicity against the Caco-2 with an IC50 of 32.68 g/ml.