Abstract

This study was aimed to screen the activity of the methanolic extract of Mikania cordata leaves (MLME) against pathogenic bacteria and Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC)-induced cancer in mice. Antibacterial activity was tested against some Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis IFO3026 and Sarcina lutea IFO 3232) and Gram-negative (Klebsiella pneumoniae ATTC 10031, Proteus vulgaris MTTC 321, Pseudomonas denitrificans KACC 32026 and Xanthomonas campestris IAM 1671) bacteria by disc diffusion and liquid microdilution assay. The anticancer activity was assessed by EAC cell death, apoptosis, hematological parameters determination and 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) test. The MLME exhibited prominent antibacterial activity against the test strains. The minimum inhibitory concentrations were ranged from 1.25 to 20 mg/mL for the bacterial strains that were found ampicillin resistant. The MLME exhibited remarkable anticancer activity on EAC in a dose-dependent manner. Oral intake of MLME at the dosage of 400 mg/kg body weight (b.w) exhibited the highest EAC cell death with remarkable apoptotic features including chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation and accumulation of apoptotic bodies. The MLME-treated EAC-bearing mice showed dose-dependently restored the altered hematological parameters towards the normal level. The IC50 value was 6.6±1.91 µg/mL. These findings suggest that the M. cordata leaves have strong antibacterial and anticancer properties.

Key words: Mikania cordata, methanol extract, antibacterial activity, Ehrlich ascites carcinoma, anticancer activity.