Cytotoxicity evaluation and anti-inflammatory potentials of Cucumis africanus L.f. leaves

Cucumis africanus L.f. is a wild vegetable belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. The leaves are eaten as vegetable and widely used in traditional medicine for wound healing, weight loss and other ailments. The present study was carried out to evaluate the cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory potentials of the aqueous and methanol extracts of C. africanus leaves using 3T3L-1 and Raw 264.7 macrophages cell lines, respectively. The study revealed that aqueous extract exhibited no significant cytotoxic effect against the 3T3L-1 cell line. However, the methanol extract exhibited moderate cytotoxicity. The result also showed that both extracts had weak anti-inflammatory activities. Further experimental studies on animal models are pertinent to accurately predict the potential therapeutic significance.