Carlina curetum plant phytoconstituents, enzymes inhibitory and cytotoxic activity on cervical epithelial carcinoma and colon cancer cell lines

Introduction: Plant products are a rich source of pharmacologically active molecules and are considered an important and attractive field of scientific investigation for the development of new drugs. The present study aimed to assess the alpha-amylase, alpha-glucosidase and lipase enzymes inhibitory activities and the cytotoxic effects of Carlina curetum four solvents fractions in order to better understand the anti-obesity, hypoglycemic and anticancer effects of this plant. Methods: Several qualitative and quantitative phytochemical tests were performed on Carlina curetum solvent fractions utilizing standard phytochemical procedures, followed by an investigation into their ability to inhibit the enzymes alpha-amylase, alpha-glucosidase, and lipase and an assessment of cytotoxic activity against HeLa and Colo-205 cells using standard biochemical and biotechnological methods. Results: The results revealed that the aqueous and methanol fractions had the highest alpha-amylase enzyme inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 21.37 +/- 0.31 and 30.2 +/- 0.42 mu g/mL, respectively, in comparison with Acarbose, which had an IC50, value of 28.18 +/- 0.42 mu g/mL. The methanol fraction showed potent alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity with an IC50, value of 27.54 +/- 4.28 mu g/mL; the alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity Acarbose was 37.15 +/- 0.33 mu g/mL. The hexane fraction had greater anti-lipase activity than Orlistat. In addition, 0.5 mg/mL of the C. curetum acetone and hexane fractions had pronounced cytotoxic effects on the Colo-205 cancer cell line, and 0.625 mg/ml of the C. curetum hexane fraction had potential cytotoxic effects against the cervical epithelial carcinoma (HeLa) cell line. Conclusion: This study revealed that C. curetum has potential alpha-amylase, alpha-glucosidase, porcine pancreatic lipase enzyme inhibitory activity and cytotoxic activity against the HeLa and Colo-205 cancer cell lines, which indicates the presence of biologically active and cytotoxic compounds in this plant species. This may be considered a challenge for developing bioactive compounds in diabetes, obesity and cancer management.