Anticancer potentials of leaf, stem, and root extracts of Achyranthes aspera L.

Achyranthes aspera L. (Amaranthaceae), an herbaceous roadside weed in various parts of India, has several therapeutic uses, including the treatment against cancer. This investigation was undertaken to identify the bioactive compounds conferring cytotoxicity to the extracts from its biomass. The powdered leaf, stem, and root biomass was extracted separately in ethyl acetate, acetone, ethanol, and methanol. Each extract was tested against the HeLa cell line for the cytotoxicity, but the root-acetone extract was the most cytotoxic. This extract revealed eleven bands. The solution obtained from the ninth band (Rf = 0.87±0.06) exhibited more than 90% inhibition of HeLa cells. The LCMS analysis of this solution showed the presence of 37 compounds, out of which few compounds had been reported from different plants to possess cytotoxicity in various systems.