**5. Cytotoxic activity of menispermaceae**

In 2010, Uddin and his coworkers tested the cytotoxicity of various fractions (pet ether, CCl4, CHCl3, and aqueous soluble fraction) of *T. cordifolia* methanolic crude extract by brine shrimp lethality bioassay. They recorded that CCl4 and CHCl3 soluble fractions showed highly cytotoxic in Artemia salina with LC50 values of 0.402 and 0.691 μg/mL [60]. Likewise, in 2021, Modi and coworkers documented that ethanol stem and leaves extract of *T. cordifolia* had a cytotoxic effect in A. salina with LC50 values of 462.38 and 676.08 μg/mL [61]. Furthermore, Jagetia and Rao studied the cytotoxic effects of DCM extract of T. cordifolia on cultured HeLa cells. They suggested that the cytotoxic effect on DCM extract of *T. cordifolia* may be due to lipid peroxidation and release of lactase dehydrogenase (LDH) and decline in glutathione-S-transferase (GST) [62]. In another study, the cytotoxic activity of aqueous and hexane extract of *T. cordifolia* was evaluated against six cancer lines, including prostate (PC-3), colon (Colo-205), HCT-116), lung (A-549, NCI-H322), and breast cancer (T47D). Results showed that aqueous extract has potent cytotoxic activity (67–99%) in prostate, lung, and colon cancer lines [63]. Also, the in vitro cytotoxic activity of methanolic stem extract from *T. cordifolia* against human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 and normal Vero epithelial cell line. It was revealed that methanolic stem extract displayed cytotoxic activity toward human breast cancer cells with an IC50 value of 59 ± 4.05 μg/mL [64]. In addition to the anti-proliferative activity, various fractions (ethanol, pet ether, DCM, butanol, and aqueous) from *T. cordifolia* were evaluated against cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cell lines by MTT and SRB methods. It was noted that both DCM (MTT; IC50: 54.23 ± 0.94 μg/mL, and SRB; 48.91 ± 0.33 μg/mL) and ethanol extract (MTT; IC50: 101.26 ± 1.42 μg/mL, and SRB; 87.93 ± 0.85 μg/mL) displayed significant cytotoxic effect in HeLa cell with their respective assay [65]. Moreover, Bala and his coworkers

*Cytotoxic Activity of Secondary Metabolite Compounds from Myanmar Medicinal Plants DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105153*

**Figure 3.** *Cytotoxic compounds from* Tinospora cordifolia.

also reported the anti-cancer and immunomodulatory activities of different extracts, fractions, and isolated compounds from the stem of *T. cordifolia*. They were screened against four different human cancer cell lines, KB (human oral squamous carcinoma), CHOK-1 (hamster ovary), HT-29 (human colon cancer), SiHa (human cervical cancer), and murine primary cells. All extracts and fractions showed promising activity against KB and CHOK-1 cells while the isolated palmatine (KB; IC50: 46.1 μM, HT-29; IC50: 49.1 μM), tinocordiside (KB; IC50: 45.5 μM, CHOK-1; IC50: 44.9 μM), and yangambin (KB; IC50: 43.8 μM) also showed promising activity with their respective cell lines [25]. The chemical structures of some cytotoxic compounds are shown in **Figure 3**.
