In Vitro Antiproliferative Activity and Phytochemicals Screening of Extracts of the Freshwater Microalgae, Chlorochromonas danica

The present study was focused on the screening of phytochemicals, their quantitative estimation and analysis by LC–MS profile, and antiproliferative efficacy of the aqueous-ethanolic extracts of the microalgae, Chlorochromonas danica isolated from the freshwater body Tavanampalli. The aqueous-ethanol extract of Chlorochromonas danica showed the presence of flavonoids, phenols, and proteins. The total flavonoid content, total phenol content, and total protein content were determined to be 158.65 mg of quercetin equivalent, 15.75 mg of gallic acid equivalent, and 134.65 mg/g dry weight of the extract, respectively. The LC–MS analysis confirmed the presence of several major bioactive molecules including l-Histidine, d-glutamine, l-aspartic acid, adenine, adenosine, cotinine, guanine hypoxanthine, l-glutamic acid, nicotinamide, 4-Hydroxycoumarin, and Stearamide. The aqueous-ethanol extract of Chlorochromonas danica exhibited an IC50 values of 63.34 µg, 279.29 µg, 125.42 µg, 90.56 µg, and 95.58 µg against A375, A549, HeLa, HepG2, and HT29 cell lines respectively, compared to the positive control cisplatin with IC50 values of 3.56 µg, 4.65 µg, 3.88 µg, 4.87 µg, and 7.23 µg respectively. These data suggest that Chlorochromonas danica remains a promising drug candidate for the treatment of cancers, particularly melanoma (A375 cell line) that can be considered for purification of antiproliferative compound and further clinical trials for the discovery of novel antiproliferative drugs from cost-effective sources.