Plants have been the source of medicines in pharmacopoeia. C. neilgherrensis is a medicinal.plant belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. C. neilgherrensis is known to possess medicinal uses, but the biological and pharmacological properties are unexplored. This is the first report of the antioxidant, anticancer analysis and drug discovery of C. neilgherrensis. The antioxidant activity was analyzed from the plant by vitamins-C and E, total phenols, flavonoids and tannins with standard reference methods. Free radical scavenging activity was measured by DPPH scavenging and ABTS assays. The cytotoxic properties were evaluated, on cancer cells of human breast (MCF-7), small cell lung carcinoma (A-549) and cervical cancer (HeLa) cell lines using MTT colorimetric assay. The results showed that the methanolic leaf and rhizome extracts of C. neilgherrensis inhibit the growth of MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, HeLa cervical cancer cell line and A-549 lung cancer cell line. The findings of the present study suggest that the methanolic leaf and rhizome extracts possess exceUent antioxidant potential that may be used for therapeutic purposes of cancer treatment. Keywords: anticancer, C. neilgherrensl cytotoxic, plant extract, antioxidant activity, drug discovery.
