Phytochemical Analysis of Amaranthus spinosus Linn.: An in vitro Analysis

Mainstream cancer treatments, which include radiotherapy and chemotherapeutic drugs, are known to induce oxidative damage to healthy somatic cells due to the liberation of harmful free radicals. In order to avert this, physiological antioxidants must be complemented with external antioxidants. We performed a preliminary phytochemical screen to identify alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, polyphenols, and tannins in all parts of the Amaranthus spinosus Linn. plant. Based on the hits we obtained, we combined the methanolic extract of the leaves with the acetonic extract of the inflorescence, which resulted in a highly potent formulation which was abundant with the all the desired phytocomponents such as saponins, tannins, polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids. We hypothesised that this crude herbal extract, AS20, will exhibit high antioxidant properties. Using the 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) assay, we found that the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of this formulation was 85.27 μg/mL. This paper describes the preparation of this crude extract and assesses its antioxidant properties for potential use in complementary cancer treatment.