Antioxidant and antiproliferative properties of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaf aqueous extract

Moringa oleifera Lam. is a highly valued medicinal plant in India, especially Kerala. In the present study, antioxidant activity of aqueous extract of leaves of M. oleifera was determined both in-vitro and in-vivo. Male Wistar rats of 3 age groups- 6, 12, and 18 months old were used for in-vivo analysis. In vitro anti-proliferative effect of the extract was carried out in Dalton's Lymphoma Ascites (DLA) Cells. LCMS-QTOF analysis of the extract was also done to determine the bioactive components present in the extract. Antioxidant activity of M. oleifera leaf showed an IC 50 value of 10.47 mu g/ml and whereas for standard drug, ascorbic acid, it was 19.52 mu g/ml. In-vivo analysis of lipid peroxidation showed a significant reduction of lipid peroxidation in the brains of 12 and 18-months old treated groups. Up to 75% mortality of DLA cancerous cells was observed in-vitro in different concentrations of M. oleifera leaf water extract in a dose-dependent manner, demonstrating its anti-proliferative property. LCMS-QTOF analysis revealed the presence of emodin-8-glucoside in the extract. Molecular docking analysis (Auto Dock Vina) of emodin-8-glucoside with six cancer related proteins showed highest binding affinity with AKT-1 with a binding score of -10.4 kcal/mol, also showed good affinity with NF-kB (p65), Stat-3, Bcl-2, Bcl-xl and c-FLIP. This study helps to choose healthy diet practices to overcome free radical onslaught and cancerous cell proliferation especially in the later stages of life. This can also pave way for the emergence of diet based therapeutic cure for cancer.