Antimitotic Activity of Samanea saman Leaf Extract in the In Vitro Development of Tripneustes gratilla Embryo

TITLEAntimitotic Activity of Samanea saman Leaf Extract in the In Vitro Development of Tripneustes gratilla Embryo INTRODUCTIONCommercially available anticancer drugs are expensive and may have side effects. This led the researchers to look into alternative plant sources. One of these is acacia or S. saman. OBJECTIVETo determine whether S. saman leaf extract possesses antimitotic activity on T. gratilla embryos using vincristine sulfate as positive control. METHODOLOGYS. saman leaves were extracted using hexane, CCl4, CHCl3, and water. T. gratilla embryos were fertilized in vitro. The fractions, vincristine sulfate, and DMSO in filtered sea water were added with the fertilized embryos in petri dishes. Samples were taken at 15 minutes after fertilization and every 30 minutes thereafter until the negative control reached a 32-cell stage. Fifty cells and their mean cell stage was evaluated per treatment. One-way ANOVA and Tukey tests were performed. RESULTSSignificant differences were seen starting at 75 minutes post fertilization up until the 165th minute using One-way ANOVA. The Tukey test showed that all aqueous and CCl4 as well as hexane (200, 400, 800 ppm) extracts had no significant difference compared to vincristine sulfate; while all CHCl3, hexane (100 ppm), and CCl4 (100 ppm) extracts showed a significant difference compared to vincristine CONCLUSIONThe aqueous, hexane, and carbon tetrachloride extracts possess potential antimitotic activity on T. gratilla embryos. Thus, it is a potential alternative to vincristine sulfate as an antimitotic agent.