Characteristics and cytotoxic effects of Ehretia asperula Zoll. & Mor. Boraginaceae

Abstract

   Up to now, there have been more than 20 reports studying the chemical composition and pharmacological effects of Celastrus hindsii, in which many studies have shown the activity against cancer cell lines of this species. However, studies on Ehretia asperula are very limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to provide scientific information on preliminary morphological and activity characteristics, as a premise for future studies. In this research, Ehretia asperula Zoll. & Mor. leaves were collected in December 2020 in Hoa Binh and studied for their botanical characteristics by methods of observation, description, analysis and comparison with the reference materials; while its cytotoxic activity was investigated using MTT method on the cell line MDA-MB-231. The results showed that Ehretia asperula Zoll. & Mor. leaf tincture showed cytotoxic effects with mean IC₅₀ = (114.55 ± 2.24) µg/mL and morphological results showed some characteristic features such as axillary leaves with a thin layer of hairs, and that on the microsection of stems, roots and leaves there are many spherical calcium oxalate crystals. These results serve as a premise for the following studies on Ehretia asperula.