Celosia trigyna Linn (Cucurbitaceae) annihilate human breast, colon, and lung cancer cells: combination of cheap template for anticancer screening

Celosia trigyna is a well-known vegetable used in the preparation of many indigenous soups in Southwestern Nigeria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anticancer property of C. trigyna of crude and solvent fractions using antioxidant, cytotoxic bench-top bioassays, and cancer cell line experiments. Cytotoxicity was carried out using Raniceps ranninus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Sorghum bicolor models, as well as cytotoxicity studies against human breast (MCF), colon (HCT116), and lung (H460) cancer cell lines; radical scavenging potential against DPPH was likewise performed. A concentration of nondependent cytotoxicity against S. cerevisiae was observed in CTA, with the lowest inhibition of organism growth at 31.2 µg/mL (26.40 ± 1.92%) and highest activity at 250 µg/mL (56.00 ± 2.12%). Concentration-dependent inhibition was observed in CTA with 84.80 ± 1.97% at 250 µg/mL, which is significantly different from values observed in DMSO (negative control) at 33.84 ± 1.03% at p < 0.01. Moreover, 100% motility of R. ranninus (tadpoles) was recorded for all concentrations (20–40 µg/mL) in CT and CTA, with significantly different p < 0.05 from values obtained for the vehicle (distilled water). Concentration-dependent DPPH radical scavenging potential was likewise noted both in CT and CTA at 20–100 µg/mL. The lowest inhibition was observed at 20 µg/mL (41.35% and 32.31%), while the highest was noted at 100 µg/mL (63.26% and 41.73%) for CT and CTA, respectively. CT showed cytotoxic effects against all cancer cell lines examined, with CTA exhibiting improved activity compared to CT against human lung (H460), breast (MCF-7), and colon (HCT116) cancer cell lines, with IC₅₀ 51.69 ± 5.13, 39.16 ± 9.21, and 38.52 ± 7.65, respectively. Findings from this research experimentally justify the ethnomedicinal claim of usage of C. trigyna in the treatment of cancer in southwestern Nigeria.