Cytotoxicity and chemical analysis of oil seeds of Citrullus colocynthis

Oil seeds of Citrullus colocynthis were used in traditional medicine to treat many diseases including diabetes, bowel complaints and epilepsy. In this study, the oil seeds of C. colocynthis were investigated for chemical composition using gas chromatography-mass spectrum analysis (GC-MS) and studied their toxicity on cancer cell line. Seventy-three various compounds were identified in oil of C. colocynthis ranged from 0.01% to 42.80%. The three largest components were 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid (Z, Z)-(43.02%), 9-octadecenoic acid (Z)-, hexadecyl ester (22.64%) and l-(+)-Ascorbic acid 2, 6-dihexadecanoate (9.21%). All concentrations of crude oil of C. colocynthis had showed high reductions to glioblastomamultiforme cell culture (AMGM) cancer cell line. Maximum inhibitory rate was 69.5% by 25% dilution with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of 36%. This reduction was much less than the reductions on mouse epithelial cell line (L₂₀B). The inhibitory rate of dilutions, 0.0001–100%, were between 48.8% and 59.7% with IC₅₀ 0.322%. The oil seeds of C. colocynthis may be used as a promise therapy for cancer treatments.