In Vitro Cytotoxic Study on Crude Extract of Marine Invertebrate Animal Polyclinum madrasensis Sebastian

Many marine origin organic molecules entered clinical studies for anticancer therapy. Ascidians, a marine invertebrate animal draw attention of the researchers for its versatility as medicine and nutrition. In this study methylene chloride crude extract of Polyclinum madrasensis Sebastian (Ascidaciae) was tested for its in-vitro anticancer property on HeLa cell lines (cervical cancer cell lines) using MTT assay. Results revealed that the extract exhibits cytotoxic effect on the cell lines used (IC 50- 0.23mg/ml). Extract was further elucidated using chemical and spectral analysis (IR, HNMR), in which peptides were found to be the major constituent. As a conclusion, Polyclinum madrasensis is found to be a good source for drug lead component in cancer drug discovery process.