Anticancer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of anemone (Anemone cathayensis)

This study was performed to evaluate the anticancer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities of fractions and isolated compounds from anemone ( Anemone cathayensis ). Fourteen compounds were isolated from extracts. Anticancer activities of fractions and compounds were determined by MTT assay, and all tested fractions showed inhibition activity on human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231). The fraction 6 displayed the strongest anticancer activity, and inhibition percent was 50.32%. The antioxidant effect of fractions was evaluated by using DPPH scavenging assays. Fraction 5 had a higher DPPH radical scavenging activity with low IC 50 value of 30.578 μg/mL. The antimicrobial activity of the fractions was evaluated against 3 microorganisms using the agar well diffusion method. The fractions also showed moderate antimicrobial activity. These results suggest that anemone could hold a good potential source for human health.