dc.description.abstract | Plants are a source of over a quarter of the prescription drugs currently in use worldwide. Coupled with human perception that they provide a safe disease treatment regime, plant derived compounds have become the mainstay sources for human health products. Dolichos kilimandischaricus has previously been studied and shown to have antiproliferative activity against cancer cells. This study was set up to determine the chemical composition of D. kilimandischaricus. Isolated extracts of D. kilimandischaricus were screened for their antiproliferative effect on mouse peritoneal cells. GC-MS, LC-MS and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR) spectral analysis of crude extract and purified components were carried out in order to predict various active functional groups which are responsible for their biological activities. Extraction with Dichloromethane: Methanol (1:1) had a yield of 2.64 % while serial exhaustive extraction, carried out with seven solvents of differing polarity, had a yield of 7.95 %. The methanol extract had the highest percentage yield of 2.54 %, with the hexane extract having the least yield of 0.27 %. The Methanol and Dichloromethane extracts showed a similar phytochemical compounds profile, though the Methanol extract possessing flavonoids, steroids and terpenoids while the Dichloromethane extract did not. FT-IR spectral analysis data of the methanolic extract revealed the presence of multiple functional groups. Spectral data of this extract confirmed the presence of bioactive functional groups such as –OH, –NH, –CHO, –COOH and –COOR. The methanol extract was shown to be the most potent extract in the inhibition of the growth of mouse peritoneal cells though the effects were less when compared to the cells incubated with the anticancer drug camptothecin. Fractions that were pooled together after TLC and pools P10, P12, P50, P51 and P52 exhibited antiproliferative effects against the mouse peritoneal cells at concentration of 0.1 mg/ml. GC-MS managed to identify 3,8-bis(2',2'-Dimethylpropionyloxy)-1-ethoxy-6-methoxy-2-methyl-9,10-anthraquinone, 1,4,5,6,7,11b-Hexahydro-10-chloro-4-( 4'-chlorophenyl)-3,11b-bis[trifluoromethyl)imidazo[1,2-a] pyrazolo [4,3-b] indole, 1-(4-isopropylphenyl)-2-methylpropyl acetate, Dodecanamide, Methyl stearate, 7-Acetyl-4,5-epoxy-18,19-dihydro-3,6-dimethoxy-6,14-ethenomorphinane, 5-Benzoyl-1,3-bisethoxymethyl-1H-pyrimidin-2,4-dione, Decanamide that are responsible for the antiproliferative effects on mouse peritoneal cells in D. kilimandischaricus methanolic extract. | en_US |