Phytochemical Characteristics, Antimitotic, Cytotoxic and Antitumor Activities of Bark Extract of Streblus Asper Lour

Ethanol extract of the stem bark of Streblus asper Lour was considered for qualitative assessment for its secondary metabolites content like alkaloids, glycosides, sterols and others. Bark extract revealed anticarcenogenic i.e. antimitotic, cytotoxic and antitumor activities. Results of different anticarcenogenic activities of the bark extract were discussed in relation to its secondary metabolite contents. Introduction Traditional medicinal plants have been recognized for their therapeutic benefits for centuries (Leonti et al. 2003, Gurib-Fakim 2006). However, there are still many unanswered questions about the mechanism of action of herbal drugs (Spinella 2002). Streblus asper Lour or Tooth brush tree of the family Moraceae is indigenous to Bangladesh (Chowdhury 1996). It is a bushy evergreen tree with milky latex and is found to grow wild all over Bangladesh. S. asper stem bark is traditionally used in the treatment of leprosy, piles, diarrhea, dysentery, elephantiasis and other diseases (Ghani 2003, Yusuf et al. 2009, Kumar et al. 2011). However, the systematic study for anticarcenogenic i.e. antimitotic, cytotoxic and antitumor activities of the bark extract in relation to secondary metabolites content have not been performed. Therefore, the aim of the present research was to investigate these properties of the bark extract. Materials and Methods Collection of bark sample: Stem bark sample was collected from a medium sized Streblus asper plant, grown naturally in the premises of Botanical Garden, Department of Botany, Chittagong University, Bangladesh in August, 2010. The plant was identified and a voucher specimen (accession no. 2010-88) was kept in the department. The collected bark sample (≈ 700 g) was cleaned from undesirable materials, chopped, air dried in shade at room temperature and finally ground to a coarse powder. Extraction: About 100 g powder was macerated with ethanol (1 : 5) in a sealed container for 5 days at room temperature with occasional shaking. Extract was filtered through Whatman No.1 filter paper and evaporated to dryness under vacuum below 50oC to get about 3 g blackish extract. The extract thus obtained was kept at 4C for future use. Assessment of secondary metabolites: Alkaloid detecting reagents were prepared following Cromwell (1955) and assessed according to Aplin and Cannon (1971). Flavonoids, tannins and sterols were determined following Wall et al. (1954), Farnsworth (1966) and Bhattachrjee and Das (1969), respectively. Glycosides, saponins and resins in the extract were assessed qualitatively according to Ghani (2005). Bioassay: Antimitotic activity of the extract was determined according to Turker and Camper (2002) using wheat seeds at germination and early seedling growth stage, cytotoxicity by brine *Author for correspondence: .