An Analysis In-vitro of the Cytotoxic, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Aqueous and Alcoholic Extracts of Annona muricata L. Seed and Pulp

Aims: To evaluate the cytotoxic activity of aqueous and alcoholic extracts from Annona muricata L (soursop) seed and pulp on human tumor cell lines of breast, prostate and cervix; as well as the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of those extracts.
Study Design: For cytotoxic activity, non-linear regressions of the values of IC50 of all extracts were used. For antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, an analysis of variance with multiple range tests, using the Fisher’s LSD method was applied. Each study was replicated 3 times.
Methodology: The methanolic extract of soursop seed was obtained by two methods: Soxhlet apparatus (SSS) and maceration (MSS). The aqueous extracts of both soursop seed (LSS) and pulp (LSP) were obtained by decoction. Human tumor cell lines from breast (MCF-7 and SKBr3), prostate (PC3) and cervix (HeLa), and fibroblasts (as control) were used to determine the cytotoxic activity by the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) assay. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity were determined by the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and disc diffusion method, respectively.
Results: Extracts of SSS, MSS, LSP and LSS had a higher cytotoxic activity on the PC3 (0.0024 to 1.275 µg/mL) and HeLa (0.0011 to 7.194 µg/mL) cell lines with low impact on healthy cells (fibroblasts, as control), than in MCF-7 (27.09 to >100 µg/mL) and SKBr3 (20.50 to >100 µg/mL) cells. Antioxidant activity of MSS (83.23%) and LSS (84.41%) extracts were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those extracts of LSP (69.77%) and SSS (69.43%). Significant (P < 0.05) antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enterica ser. Enteritidis and Staphylococcus aureus was only observed for SSS and MSS extracts.
Conclusion: Results obtained in this research suggest that consumption of soursop fruit could be a good alternative to prevent illness such as cancer of prostate and cervix. However, further studies are needed to isolate and characterize the specific compounds of these extracts causing such effects.