This in-vitro study compared water, ethanol and methanol extracts of Litsea elliptica leaves. Ethanol produced the highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents and the strongest antioxidant activity, whereas the aqueous extract showed the highest selectivity toward HCT116 colorectal cancer cells. The results guide solvent selection but do not demonstrate anticancer treatment efficacy in humans.
Key findings
- The ethanol extract had the highest total phenolic content, 322.9 ± 3.7 mg GAE/g, and total flavonoid content, 126.8 ± 0.8 mg QE/g. Its DPPH and ABTS IC50 values were 14.9 ± 0.5 and 2.6 ± 0.1 micrograms/mL. Methanol and water extracts produced HCT116 IC50 values of 41.01 ± 9.79 and 42.98 ± 6.85 micrograms/mL, and the aqueous extract had the highest selectivity index, 8.42.
Why this matters globally
The comparison can inform extraction design, natural-product standardisation and subsequent compound-isolation or mechanistic studies, particularly because the strongest antioxidant extract was not the same as the extract with the highest cellular selectivity.
Thai researcher contribution
Researchers from Nakhonratchasima College, Burapha University, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University and Khon Kaen University contributed pharmacognosy, analytical and cell-assay expertise. The affiliation record has been corrected against the publisher metadata, which identifies Nakhonratchasima College rather than the institutions inferred automatically by OpenAlex.
Limitations to consider
Chemical antioxidant assays and cytotoxicity in cultured cells cannot be translated directly into efficacy or safety in people. Active compounds have not yet been isolated, experimental replication details should be checked in the full paper, and any anticancer interpretation remains a lead for further research only.