Prince Paul, M Kabilan, V Duraipandiyan
Osteosarcoma remains a highly aggressive bone malignancy with limited therapeutic success due to chemoresistance and systemic toxicity. Plant-derived compounds are increasingly explored as alternative anticancer agents. The present study evaluates the in vitro cytotoxic and morphological effects of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts of B. hieracifolia against human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells. Cell viability was assessed using MTT assay, and morphological changes were observed under phase-contrast microscopy. The selected effective concentrations were hexane (20 µg/mL), chloroform (10 µg/mL), ethyl acetate (40 µg/mL), and methanol (100 µg/mL). All extracts showed significant dose-dependent cytotoxicity (p< 0.05). Treated cells exhibited reduced viability, cell shrinkage, detachment, and membrane blebbing, indicating apoptosis-like cell death. Among the tested fractions, hexane and chloroform extracts showed comparatively higher potency. These findings suggest that B. hieracifolia contains bioactive phytochemicals with potential anticancer activity, warranting further isolation and mechanistic studies.