In vitro Cytoprotective Effect of Ipomoea sepiaria Roxb. Extract on Gentamicin Induced Toxicity in HEK 293 Cells

Ipomoea sepiaria Roxb. also known as Purple heart glory is a slender vine belonging to family Convolvulaceae. The plant is found on sea coasts and on saline soil. In Sanskrit it is known as lakshmana, in Hindi as Bankalmi and in Malayalam as Tirutali. It is one among the ten sacred plants known collectively as “Dasapushpam” in Kerala. The present study is intended to check the effectiveness of the ethyl acetate extract Ipomoea sepiaria plant extract for cytoprotective effect in Gentamicin induced toxicity in Human Embryonic Kidney Cells. The cytoprotective effect of the ethyl acetate extracts was studied after pretreatment of the HEK (Human Embryonic Kidney) 293 cells with gentamicin, a nephrotoxic aminoglycoside antibiotic. The viability of cells were evaluated by direct observation of cells by Inverted phase contrast microscope and MTT assay method. The cell lines incubated with 50 µg /mL and 100 µg /mL of ethyl acetate extract demonstrated 91% and 96.23% cell viability respectively indicating high degree of cytoprotection to gentamicin induced toxicity and apoptosis. The percentages of cell viability in different groups substantiate the results of cytotoxic evaluation by direct microscopic observation.