PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND BRINE SHRIMP TOXICITY EVALUATION OF TRADITIONAL PLANT REMEDIES USED IN CANCER MANAGEMENT IN NORTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Cancer poses a growing healthcare challenge in Nigeria, driving reliance on traditional herbal medicine. This study evaluated the extraction yields, qualitative phytochemical compositions, and cytotoxicity of sixteen medicinal plant species traditionally used for tumor management in Northwestern Nigeria to prioritize candidates for anticancer bioprospecting. Ethanolic and aqueous crude extracts were obtained by cold maceration of the dried leaves. Phytochemical screening targeted nine major secondary metabolite classes. Cytotoxicity was assessed using the brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethality bioassay (BSLA) across three concentrations (10, 100, and 1000 µg/ml) to determine median lethal concentration (LC50) values. Ethanolic extraction yielded higher mass recovery (mean 26.2%) and broader phytochemical diversity than aqueous extraction (mean 11.3%). All species showed the presence of flavonoids, steroids, phenols, saponins, and tannins, whereas anthraquinones were predominantly extracted by ethanol (68.8%). Five extracts demonstrated high cytotoxicity; ethanolic extracts of Senna nigricans (LC50 = 7.16µg/ml), Ziziphus spina-christi (7.66 µg/ml), Lepidium sativum (19.00µg/ml), and Senna singueana (21.52µg/ml), along with aqueous Piliostigma reticulatum (9.50µg/mL). These findings support the ethnomedical use of several Northwestern Nigerian medicinal plants, prioritizing S. nigricans, Z. spina-christi, P. reticulatum, L. sativum, and S. singueana for bioassay-guided isolation of novel antiproliferative agents.