Abstract

Psidium guajava (Guava) could be an ancient remedy used for a variety of health conditions. Research suggests that guava fruits and leaves might have a variety of advantages. Guava is the tropical tree with yellowish-green skin fruits, and widely grown in Central America and Asia. Individuals use guava leaf tea as a treatment for gastric symptoms in many countries, together with India and China. In different countries, like India and Mexico, individuals have historically used the flesh of the fruit and leaves to heal wounds. Guava leaves extract had shown anticancer, antidiabetic, antispasmodic and anthelmintic effects in various research studies. In our present study, terpenoid saponin, a novel molecule isolated from the fraction of guava leaf extract studied for anticancer activity using 4′, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays against MCF-7 breast cancer cell line.  Terpenoid saponin fraction had shown >60% apoptotic activity using DAPI staining assay against normal cell line activity and shown >99% average %inhibition activity at 400 μg/ml which is a significant result. Thus, we suggest further cell line studies of terpenoid saponin extract of guava leaf for potential anticancer effects and usage.

Key words: Guava leaves, Psidium guajava, terpenoid saponin glycoside, 4′, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), assay.