Isolation and Characterisation of β-Sitosterol Derived from Indigenous Therapeutic Plant Crateva religiosa (Frost.) and its Anticancer Properties

In this study, an indigenous medicinal plant, Crateva religiosa, was chosen to examine its anticancer potential with its pharmacological effects. This study aims to explore the anticancer potential of an underexplored medicinal plant source, coupled with detailed structural characterization and in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation. The FT-IR spectrum confirmed hydroxyl, alkene, and alkane functionalities, indicated by absorption peaks appearing at 3420, 1640 cm–1 and 2925-2850 cm–1, respectively. 13C NMR spectrum displayed 29 distinct carbon resonances, including characteristic olefinic carbons at δ 140.77 and 121.73 ppm. Mass spectrometric analysis further confirmed the molecular formula as C29H50O with a prominent molecular ion peak at m/z 437.18, which was consistent with the expected mass of the isolated compound. The MTT-based in vitro cytotoxicity assay showed that β-sitosterol possesses anticancer effect against the A549 lung cancer and HeLa cervical cancer cell lines, with IC50 of 60.40 µg/mL and 57.11 µg/mL, respectively. Such findings indicate the remedial value of β-sitosterol extracted from C. religiosa, which proves to be a beneficial anticancer agent.