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LC-MS ANALYSIS AND ANTIOXIDANT, ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTIPROLIFERATIVE INVESTIGATIONS OF LEUCAENA LEUCOCEPHALA FLOWERS GROWING IN JORDAN EXTRACTS

ALI MUHARRIF KHALID 1, ASMA ISMAIL MAHMOD 2, WAMIDH H. TALIB 2, FATMA U. AFIFI 1*

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Leucaena leucocephala (Fabaceae family) is one of the plants used in the traditional medicine for the treatment of many diseases. The objective of the present work was to evaluate phytochemically and biologically different extracts of L. leucocephala flowers, grown in Jordan. Total phenols and total flavonoid contents and antioxidant activities of the water, 70% ethanol and n-butanol extracts of the fresh flowers were determined. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the antimicrobial activity of the extracts was evaluated using the dilution method. Microculture tetrazolium assay (MTT) was used to measure the antiproliferative activity. The toxicity of the extracts was assessed using Brine shrimp lethality assay (BSLA). The chemical composition of the n-butanol extract, the most potent extract, was determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). LC-MS evaluation of the n-butanol extract revealed the presence of 24 compounds. It showed the highest phenolic content (gallic acid equivalent - 321.087 mg/g) and the highest flavonoid content (rutin equivalent - 210.388 mg/g). It exhibited highest antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus (MIC = 0.390 ± 0.002 mg/mL) and highest antiproliferative activity against T47D (IC50 = 0.094 ± 0.01 mg/mL). None of the tested extracts exhibited toxicity.