Unveiling The Dual Anticancer Role of Hilleria Latifolia (Phytolaccaceae): Use of Preliminary Bench-Top Bioassays in A Resource-Challenging Environment

Abstract

Medicinal plants remain a vital source for modern drug discovery. Research into plants traditionally used for tumour-related disorders is essential, considering the rising incidence of various forms of cancer. Hilleria latifolia is among the plants documented in traditional medicine for treating tumour-related ailments, but with limited scientific evidence. This study aimed to investigate the growth-inhibitory (antiproliferative) and cytotoxic potentials of the methanol extract of the whole plant of H. latifolia and its fractions using simple bench-top assay methods. Antiproliferative activity was conducted using guinea corn (Sorghum bicolor) at 1–30 mg/mL over 24-96 hours, while cytotoxicity was evaluated using tadpoles (Raniceps raninus) after 24 hours at 10–400 µg/mL. The crude methanol extract remarkably suppressed seed radicle proliferation in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, achieving 95.24% inhibition at 30 mg/mL. The aqueous and chloroform fractions exhibited 99.42% and 80.38% inhibition, respectively, at similar concentrations. In the cytotoxicity assay, the chloroform fraction and the crude methanol extract demonstrated the highest cytotoxicity, achieving 100% mortality at 200-400 μg/mL. The aqueous fraction achieved 93.3% mortality at 400 μg/mL. LC₅₀ values of 159.26, 215.10, and 99.55 μg/mL were calculated for the methanol extract, the aqueous, and the chloroform fractions, respectively. Phytochemical evaluation confirmed the presence of condensed tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, alkaloids, and steroids, which have been linked to anticancer properties. These findings provide evidence supporting the ethnomedicinal use of H. latifolia for managing tumour-related conditions and suggest its potential as a lead in anticancer drug discovery, pending confirmation studies with established cancer cell lines.