Chemical composition and antiproliferative and antioxidant activities of methanolic extract of Alcea setosa A. Malvaceae

Alcea setosa A. (Malvaceae) is a wild plant that grows in Jordan and have several traditional medicinal uses. This study aims to collect and chemically analyze the methanolic extract from Alcea setosa A. from Jordan and to evaluate its cytotoxic and antioxidant activity against human breast cancer cells (T47D), colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (CACO2), and normal human fibroblasts (MRC5). The extract was extracted by methanol solvent and analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer. Cell viability was assessed using trypan blue, neutral red, and MTT assays, and antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH scavenging activity assay. A total of 290 compounds, 12 among which were identified when compared to available standards, the extract contained six flavons derivatives, Two fatty acids, one ketone derivative, one flavonol derivative, one organic acid, and one coumarin derivative. The results also revealed that the IC50 values of the viability assays were higher among normal cells compared to the human cancer cell lines, and the viability inhibition was significant at higher concentrations compared to untreated cells. Nevertheless, moderate antioxidant activity was observed for the extract in the DPPH scavenging activity test. To sum up, this study indicates that samples of A. setosa collected from Jordan is likely to be an effective antioxidant, is optimistically potential to be utilized in breast and colon cancers treatment due to its preferential cytotoxicity against cancer cells.