Abstract

Khaled Nagib, Omayma A. Eldahshan* and Walid F. A. M. El-Khatib

Plants are endless reservoir for several phytochemicals including antioxidant and cytotoxic drugs. The objective of this study was the investigation of the antioxidant and the cytotoxic activities (against Vero and HEp-2 cell lines) of the aqueous ethanolic extract of carob leaves. The extract inhibited xanthine oxidase at IC50 of 244 µg/ml. There is a marked cytotoxic activity of crude aqueous extract of carob on both mammalian cell lines (Vero and HEp-2) and the effect is more obvious on the human cell line (HEp2). The results revealed that the crude aqueous extract of carob leaves could be a promising source for antioxidant as well as antitumor bioactive agents.