Abstract:
Therapeutic secondary metabolites have gained immense attention in recent years due to their effective
medicinal properties. Aesculus indica is a medicinally important plant being traditionally used for various ailments. The
present study aimed to determine the antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of seeds of A. indica. The crude
methanolic seed extract was prepared and subjected to sequential fractionation in increasing polarity. The extract and its
fractions were investigated for antioxidant activities using various in vitro assays. Further, the extract along with its
potential antioxidant fractions were analyzed for their cytotoxic activity against HepG2, human hepatocyte carcinoma
cells through bioassays. The results showed highly significant antioxidant potential of methanolic extract of A. indica
seeds and two of its fractions prepared with chloroform and ethyl acetate. The studies on hepatocyte carcinoma cells
further revealed that the extract and two of its potential antioxidant fractions significantly induced cytotoxicity and
inhibited migration, proliferation, clonogenicity and 3D growth of HepG2 cells. It is therefore, concluded that A. indica
possess significant antioxidant and cytotoxic potential against HepG2 cells and with further research can be proposed for
therapeutic interventions.
