Methanol extract of pomegranate fruits containing ellagic acid and cytotoxicity in Vero cell line

Sodium Glucose Co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor is an alternative pharmacology therapy for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are unresponsive to metformin as the standard therapy. SGLT2 is a protein transporter that reabsorbs 90% of glucose in the renal tubules. Ellagic acid is found in pomegranate seeds or peels, which potentially could be an SGLT2 inhibitor in silico. This study analyzed the cytotoxicity effect of methanol extract of pomegranate seeds (MPS) and peels (MPP) on the Vero cell line. Laboratory experiments with a post-test only control group design was conducted in this study. Methanol extracts of pomegranate seeds and peels were obtained from our previous study and Dapagliflozin was used as a positive control. The concentrations of ellagic acid in MPS and MPP were measured using liquid chromatography tandem–mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Eight different doses of MPS and MPP, which ranged from 0.98 to 125 ppm, were used to determine their cytotoxicity using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The probit test was then used to analyze IC₅₀ of MPS and MPP. The concentration of ellagic acid in MPS was 1.34 ppm, which had IC₅₀ at 231 mM, while the concentration of MPP-extracted ellagic acid was 1.68 ppm and had lower IC₅₀ (1.7 mM), compared to the IC₅₀ of MPS. Moreover, the IC₅₀ value of both methanol extracts was higher than the IC₅₀ of Dapagliflozin (0.406 mM). In conclusion, MPS and MPP have different cytotoxicity against the Vero cell line.