A First Report on the Antiproliferative activity of Sodium Copper Chlorophyllin from Endangered Medicinal Plant Rhinacanthus nasutus on HepG2 and HeLa Cell Lines

Plants are the richest source of bioactive compounds and they have been used as medicine also. Chlorophyllin, a water soluble derivative of chlorophyll (chl) in which magnesium has been replaced with copper and the phytol chains lost. Chlorophyllin has been used by human population for over 50 years for medicinal purposes with no adverse effects. Chlorophyllin is a promising chemopreventive agent to block cancer primarily by inhibiting carcinogen such as AFB₁. The objective was to extract the bioactive pigment chloropyllin from Rhinacanthus nasutus and characterize by IR and NMR and evaluate the effect of chlorophyllin on inhibition of cell proliferation in HepG2 and HeLa cell lines. The HepG2 and HeLa cell lines was exposed with different concentrations of chlorophyllin, and found that there was a significant dose dependent reduction in cell viability. The IC₅₀ value at 48Hrs was 62.5μg/ml for Rhinacanthus nasutus Chlorophyllin on HepG2 Cell line and HeLa cell line. This is the first report of chlorophyllin from fresh leaves of Rhinacanthus nasutus on HepG2 and HeLa cell lines. It also suggests the benefit of these natural compounds against HepG2 and HeLa cell lines.