Abstract

The present study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and antitumor activities of the aqueous methanol extract of Nendran banana peel as a valuable source for bioactive compounds against cancer. Free radical scavenging activity of the peel extracts was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and ferric reducing antioxidant power assay. The antitumor activity on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line was determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and ethidium bromide/acridine orange staining assay. Extract of banana peel was more efficient in reducing ferric ion with the increase in concentration and exhibited IC50 180.33 µg/ml, free radical inhibition activity under 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate assay. Flavonoid content was high (51.47 µg/ml) in the peel extract, which could have contributed to the antioxidant activity. The antioxidant enzyme concentration such as ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were found higher in the fruit pulp than peel. As the concentration of extract increased from 20 to 200 μg/ml, the cell viability of MCF-7 decreased from 91.14 to 24.7%. The IC50 values of plant extract-treated cells (120.6 μg/ml) showed typical apoptotic and necrotic morphological features such as condensed nuclei, membrane blebbing and formation of apoptotic bodies. This indicated the efficiency of sample against breast cancer with the highest inhibition of growth.