Abstract

Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. Br (Asclepiadaceae) is a species widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases such as sickle cell disease, asthma and cancer. In Burkina Faso, it enter in the composition of FACA® in combination with Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloïdes Lam (Rutaceae), drug used in sickle cell disease treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro cytotoxicity of aqueous extract of root barks of the plant on cell lines to increase the safe use of FACA®. MTT and Neutral Red assays performed on Caco-2 and Neuro-2a cell lines revealed that aqueous extract from root barks of Calotropis procera are cytotoxic on these cell lines. DNA fragmentation assay on Caco-2 cell showed DNA smearing reflecting a degradation of nuclear material that indicates a possible genotoxicity. Altogether, it comes out that the most sensitive cell line is the human colorectal carcinoma Caco-2 cells. Comparatively the active compounds of Calotropis procera do not affect the mice nervous system cells in the same dramatic extent. Our results strongly suggest that patients under treatment of FACA® must respect doses prescribed in order to avoid adverse side effects on the gastrointestinal tract.

Key words: Calotropis procera Ait., cytotoxicity, FACA®, Caco-2 cell, Neuro-2a cell