cytotoxicity and antioxidant activity of 23 plant species of leguminosae family

numerous studies have been focused on natural anticarcinogenic agents. many antioxidants have been identified as anticarcinogens. antimutagens have also been proposed as cancer chemopreventive agents. the use of natural products as anticancer has a long history that began with traditional medicine. the aim of this study was to evaluate cytotoxicity and antioxidant activity of twenty-three plant species of leguminosae family from different regions of iran. twenty-three plant species of leguminosae family were collected in may-june 2009 from different regions of iran.methanol extracts of these species were tested through the brine shrimp lethality assay in order to detect potential sources of novel cytotoxic compounds. the total antioxidant activity was evaluated with dpph free radical-scavenging method. the extracts of twelve species showed moderate cytotoxicity against brine shrimp (lc50 between 30 and 50 μg/ml). the extracts of taverniera spartea and tephrosia persica showed significant cytotoxicity (lc50 < 30 μg/ml) with lc50 values of 0.34 and 2.43 μg/ml, respectively, whereas the positive control, thymol showed a lc50 value of 1.37 μg/ml. the chloroform fractions of the latter two species were subjected to the brine shrimp lethality assay with lc50 values of 113.79 and 1.23 μg/ml, respectively. in comparing antioxidant capacities, gleditschia caspica and taverniera spartea showed significant antioxidant activity (ic50 < 50 μg/ml) with lc50 values of 14.54 and 20.32 μg/ml, respectively. it could be seen among 23 tested plant species that taverniera spartea had the most cytotoxic and antioxidant activity and was the best candidate for these effects. further investigations are necessary for chemical characterization of the active compounds and more comprehensive biological assays.