Abstract:
Cancer is a multifactorial disease caused by combined genetic and non-genetic changes. Breast cancer being the
second leading cause of death in women. A large percentage of known anticancer medicines are derived from
various plant species. Dennettia tripetala has been found to contain vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that
possess anticancer properties. The study was aimed at examining the anticancer activity of aqueous and ethanol
extract of Dennettia tripetala fruit on the morphology MCF-7 cell lines. 150 g of the ground fruit was soaked in
1.5 L of distilled water and ethanol to produce aqueous and ethanol extracts respectively. Both extracts obtained
were concentrated to 6.25, 12.5 and 25.0 µg/ml. Cell viability was determined using trypan blue and
hemocytometer while morphological changes were examined, by using an inverted microscope. MCF-7 cell was
cultured and subcultured at confluence before treating with, 5-fluorouracil drug as positive control, dimethyl
sulfoxide as negative control and the extracts of Dennettia tripetala. Cell viability decreased significantly in a
dose-time manner. Morphological observation showed distortion of the MCF-7 cell, after treatment with the
extracts, especially at 25 µg/ml after 48 and 72 hrs. In conclusion, Dennettia tripetala fruit have potency to
decrease the viability and result in morphological damage of MCF-7 cancer cells.
