African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 6 (11), pp. 1276-1279, 4 June 2007   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2007 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Cytotoxicity and antimicrobial studies of 1,6,8-trihydroxy-3-methyl-anthraquinone (emodin) isolated from the leaves of Cassia nigricans Vahl

R. G. Ayo¹, J. O. Amupitan² and Yimin Zhao³

¹Samaru College of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

²Department of Chemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

³Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, PR China.

*Corresponding author. Email: gbekeayo@yahoo.com

Accepted 21 May, 2007

Emodin was isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of Cassia nigricans Vahl. The structure of the emodin was established by chemical spectroscopy. The LC₅₀ (lower – upper limits) of the emodin was 42.77 (11.80 – 72.94) µg/ml. Emodin was found to be highly cytotoxic. It showed significant antimicrobial activity on some common pathogens. The isolation of this active principle emodin, from the leaves of Cassia nigricans for the first time and the antimicrobial activity of the compound are reported in the present study. The isolation of the active principle justifies the use of the leaves of C. nigricans in herbal medicine for the treatment of skin diseases and gastro-intestinal disorders.

Key words: Cassia nigricans, leguminosae, emodin, cytotoxicity, antimicrobial activity.