Chemical composition and anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects of methanolic extract of Arum palaestinum spadices

Arum palaestinum is a wild edible plant that belongs to the Araceae family and grows in different regions of the Middle East. The present study aimed to investigate the chemical composition and bioactivities of A. palaestinum spadices utilizing GC/MS analysis of the non-polar fraction, the MTS assay as well as membrane stabilization and disk diffusion tests on various methanolic extracts. Twelve known compounds from the non-polar fraction were characterized by the GC/MS analysis. The spathe extract exhibited the maximum inhibition activity against HeLa cells and good activity against HepG-2 cells. The spathe extract showed a relatively high selectivity ratio towards three cancer cell lines, i.e., around 0.22, 0.73, and 0.16 towards HeLa, MCF-7, and HepG-2, respectively. Membrane stabilization was induced by all the crude extracts, ranging between a 70.7% hemolysis inhibition rate exerted by the spathe extract and 75.3% inhibition by the XAD extract. The results suggest that A. palaestinum spadices may be considered as a potential source of new bioactive agents for drug development.