Determination of Antimitotic Effect of Ethanol Fraction of Hibiscus mutabilis Leaves and Flowers

The present study investigates the antimitotic effect of Hibiscus mutabilis leaf and flower by in vitro model of Allium cepa root test. The most notable characteristic of this flowering shrub is that flowers are of three distinct colors appear on the bush simultaneously as the blooms color cycle independent of one another. Hibiscus mutabilis is a medicinal plant reported for bioactive constituents. Ethanol fraction of Hibiscus mutabilis leaf and flower were studied for in vitro antimitotic activity using Allium cepa roots method to evaluate cytotoxicity of the extracts. The extracts were shown to have an impact on the root's developmental stage. On the third day of incubation, the ethanol-soluble portion of the leaf and flower demonstrated an inhibitory effect on the growth of both root length and root number, which is comparable to the usual medication employed, paracetamol. The ethanolic fraction of the leaf causes a reduction in the number of dividing cells in the root meristem, indicating dose-dependent antimitotic activity. The constituents present in ethanolic extract may be responsible for cytoskeleton or tubulin polymerization or degradation that demonstrates antimitotic behavior.