LAUSR

Fruits of Cucumis callosus (Rottl.) Cogn. (Family: Cucurbitaceae) plant, are commonly known as “bitter cucumber” (English) and “Kachri” (Hindi) in India and have been traditionally used for antioxidant, rich source of vitamin C, antidiabetic and anticancer actions. Tribal peoples of Odissa and West-Bengal are using these fruits during worship and as a vegetable. In vitro cytotoxicity of methanolic seed extract of C. callosus (MSCC) at different concentrations (25, 50, 100, 200, 400) µg/ml and methanolic pericarp extract of C. callosus (MPCC) at (30, 60, 120, 240, 360) µg/ml on Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) cell line, has been evaluated by using the MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay and Trypan blue dye exclusion assay for a period of 3 h treatment. Acute toxicity and in vivo teratotoxicity of both extracts were also evaluated using the Zebrafish embryo developmental assay. The MSCC and MPCC showed the direct cytotoxic effect on EAC cells in a dose-dependent manner with IG50 value 273.17 and 235.08 µg/ml respectively. The MPCC in 240 and 360 µg/ml showed a strong teratotoxic effect on Zebrafish embryo in a dose-dependent manner. The cytotoxicity and teratotoxicity of MPCC were due to overexpressed CYP450 mediated apoptosis in the tissue.