Toxicity evaluation of the ethanolic extract and solvent fractions of Crescentia Cujete LINN

Crescentia cujete has long been used in folkloric medicine for the treatment of various ailments. This study aims to determine the toxicity and bioactive potentials of the crude ethanolic extract and fractions of C. cujete leaves against Artemia salina nauplii. Six different concentrations of the plant leaves were tested on brine shrimp nauplii to determine the percentage lethality. Results showed that the various concentrations of C. cujete leaf extract and fractions caused lethality of brine shrimp nauplii with a lethal concentration LC50 of 262.18µg/ml. Moreover, among all fractions of the plant leaves exposed to brine shrimp nauplii, the ethyl acetate fraction of C.cujete shows the high toxicity/bioactivity with LC50 66.07 µg/ml. This reveals that the mortality of brine shrimp is due to the bioactive compounds found in the test plant leaves with anti-cancer potentials. Furthermore, the plant fractions showed concentration-dependent effects because the percentage mortality increases in relation to the increase of fractions’ concentrations, ranging from the lowest concentration (25µg/ml) to the highest concentration (1500 µg/ml). This concentration-dependent increment in percent lethality of brine shrimp nauplii produced by the C. cujete indicates the presence of cytotoxic compounds of the said plant.