www.ijpsonline.com Special Issue 1, 2020 Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 53 *Address for correspondence E-mail: gmdogar356@gmail.com In vitro Screening of Berberis lycium Root Extract on HCT-116 and MCF-7 Cell Lines XIAOLIN HU, S. ISLAM 1 , FUAD AMEEN 2 , ABDULLAH A. ALARFAJ 2 , G. MURTAZA* 3 AND A. MANNAN* 1 Department of general surgery (hepatobiliary, gastrointestinal), The People’s Hospital of Shouguang, Shouguang City, Shan- dong Province, 262700, China, 1 Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan, 2 Department of Botany & Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud, University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia, 3 Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore 54000, Pakistan Hu et al.: Cytotoxic Screening of Berberis lycium The objective of the current study was to evaluate the antioxidant, lethality and anticancer potential of root extracts of Berberis lycium. Equal weight of powdered roots was used to prepare water, methanol, ethyl acetate and n-hexane extracts. Methanol extract of Berberis lycium showed promising 2,2-diphenyl- 1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging potential with an IC 50 of 144.31 µg/ml. In the brine shrimp lethality assay, the ethyl acetate extract produced 53.33 % mortality at 1000 µg/ml and its LD 50 was 907.7 µg/ml. In the sulforhodamine B colorimetric cytotoxicity screening assay, methanol extracts of Berberis lycium caused 45 % inhibition in growth of HCT116, without producing much effect against MCF7 cell line. In addition, the potential mediators that could be involved in mediating these activities include AKT1, TP53, JUN, and TLR4. In conclusion, methanol extract of Berberis lycium exhibited excellent antioxidant, brine shrimp lethality, and cytotoxic activities, indicating the potential of this plant against colorectal and breast cancer. Key words: Antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anticancer, Berberis lycium, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain 10 Cancer, a condition of uncontrolled cell proliferation due to genetic mutations, can be divided into several types, including colon, colorectal, prostate and blood cancer. The most commonly used anticancer agents are platinum analogues, alkylating agents, and antimetabolites [1] . Because of toxicities associated with cancer chemotherapies and radiation therapy, screening of plants for discovering natural anticancer agents is widely under way. Several natural anticancer molecules such as vincristine and vinblastine have been already discovered from plants [2] . Berberis lycium (Berberidaceae) is famous for its medicinal and edible values. It is widely distributed in North West Himalayan region of Pakistan and included in both British and Indian pharmacopeias. Therapeutic potential is present in its fruits, root and root bark. Different parts of B. lycium are used for a number of medicinal purposes [3] . B. lycium is widely used by local community to treat jaundice, wounds and broken bones, intestinal colic, and diarrhea. It is used as an expectorant, diuretic and in chronic ophthalmic and throat infammation. The roots are aperient, carminative, febrifuge and ophthalmic. They are utilized as a part of the treatment of eye conditions, menorrhagia, and abdominal disorders [4] . The leaves have been utilized as a part of the treatment of jaundice. The rhizomes of Berberis species have marked antibacterial activity. It is not absorbed by the body and it is utilized orally to treat different types of bacterial gastroenteritis. It ought not to be utilized with Glycyrrhiza species (liquorice) in the light of the fact that this invalidates the impacts of the berberine. Berberine has additionally indicated antitumor movement [4] . Various chemical constituent present in B. lycium are ascorbic acid, berberine, berbamine, chinabine, gilgitine karakoramine, maleic acid, palmatine, balauchistanamine, jhelumine, punjabine and sindamine. B. lycium contains the alkaloid berberine, which is an isoquinoline alkaloid. It is isolated from roots and bark. Berberine and palmatin are reported to have strong growth inhibitory and proapoptotic effect [3] . The present in vitro study is aimed at identifying a candidate plant drug source that could suppress the proliferation of malignant colorectal and breast cancers the have high incidence worldwide. Thus the objective of current study was not only to evaluate the antioxidant and lethality potential of root extracts of B. lycium, but also to assess the anticancer potential