International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology
Volume 15, Issue 3

Phytochemical Profiling and Evaluation of In-vitro Anticancer and Antioxidant Activities of Urtica dioica L.

Debapriya Subhadarshan Behera*, Nihar Ranjan Kar

School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha, Bhubaneswar, India 

Received: 23rd Jul, 2025; Revised: 11th Aug, 2025; Accepted: 5th Sep, 2025; Available Online: 25th Sep, 2025 

ABSTRACT

Much research has been conducted in recent decades to screen for and investigate the antioxidant and anticancer properties of medications based on isolated natural products or medicinal plant extracts. In order to evaluate the antioxidant, phytochemical, and in-vitro anticancer characteristics of Urtica Dioica L. (UDSE-02) seed ethanolic extracts, the current study was conducted. Using conventional methods, flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, phytosterols, and glycoside compounds were detected. Through spectral and physical examination, the structure of the isolated chemical was verified. The 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical assay was used to evaluate the ethanolic extracts' and isolated compounds' ability to scavenge free radicals. The MTT assay was used to assess an in-vitro anticancer investigation employing the MCF-7 Brest cancer cell line. In terms of antioxidant activity, our results showed that the ethanolic extracts had a strong in-vitro capacity to scavenge free radicals. The IC50 values of the extracted components from Urtica Dioica L. seeds were 154 µg/mL and 53 µg/mL (UDSE-02), respectively, as compared to the standard. In the MTT experiment, UDSE-02 extract showed a considerable and dose-dependent growth inhibition of Brest cancer cells at doses over 100 µg/mL, with an IC50 of 72 µg/mL, in contrast to cisplatin (IC50 = 6 µg/mL), were isolated compounds showed a fruitful result with IC50 of 34µg/mL. Our findings demonstrate the ethanolic extracts and isolated compounds may be a promising anticancer agent and an efficient antioxidant.

Key words: In-vitro, Anticancer, Antioxidant activities, Cell Line, Urtica Dioica.L.

How to cite this article: Debapriya Subhadarshan Behera, Nihar Ranjan Kar. Phytochemical Profiling and Evaluation of In-vitro Anticancer and Antioxidant Activities of Urtica dioica L. International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology. 2025;15(3):918-24. doi: 10.25258/ijddt.15.3.2

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