LC50 DETERMINATION OF EUPHORBIA THYMIFOLIA LINN BY BRINE SHRIMP LETHALITY ASSAY

Brine shrimp larva has been used as a bioassay for a variety of toxic substances. Brine shrimp lethality assay has been applied to plant extracts in order to facilitate the isolation of biologically active compounds. This method is used for the determination of LC50 values of herbal extracts. In this study, the plants Euphorbia thymifolia Linn, which is reported in traditional literature for its anti-tumor activity, had been selected to test for brine shrimp lethality activity. Petroleum ether, diethyl ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol, aqueous and ethanolic extract were collected and checked for activity. The result showed that the LC50values of ethanolic extract of the whole plant are found 106.75 μg to possess significant cytotoxic activity.