## 4 Conclusions  
Since there is growing evidence that some phytochemicals may have anticancer properties, plants present a useful source of potential alternative anticancer treatments. Many phytochemicals have a significant anticancer potential and could be used in drug development. Traditional medicinal plants have found favour in modern medicine as possible sources for new therapeutic medications. Natural products have historically led to the discovery of numerous innovative anticancer medications. Many of these products have demonstrated preliminary anticancer action in vitro, as evidenced by their ability to be cytotoxic or antiproliferative, as well as by their impact on mechanisms involved in cancer cell growth. The major goals of studying crude plant extracts are to either isolate bioactive compounds for use directly as medications or to find bioactive compounds that can be utilized as lead ingredients in the development of semi-synthetic pharmaceuticals, thus it is imperative to isolate the cytotoxic compounds in _P. obliquuum_. These cytotoxic natural products may have a significant role in treating selected cancers by working in synergy with conventional chemotherapeutic drugs, possibly by reducing toxicity while improving their efficacy. Antiproliferative agents such as _P. obliquuum_ acetone extracts, that can induce selective cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines without causing much harm to normal cells, are highly desirable for therapeutic purposes and may be considered in the development of novel cancer chemotherapeutic drugs. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline  & **DPPH** & **ABTS** \\ \hline
**Extracts** & **IC\({}_{50}\)**\#/mL** & \\ \hline
**Walter Sisulu** & 269.1 \(\pm\) 4.6 & 251.2 \(\pm\) 50 \\ Acetone & 269.1 \(\pm\) 4.6 & 251.2 \(\pm\) 50 \\ H\({}_{2}\)O (cold) & 138.3 \(\pm\) 17.5 & **37.5 \(\pm\) 10** \\ H\({}_{2}\)O (hot) & **43.4 \(\pm\) 6.1** & **21.5 \(\pm\) 0.2** \\
**UP Hafield** & & \\ Acetone & 150.6 \(\pm\) 12 & 178.4 \(\pm\) 17 \\ H\({}_{2}\)O (cold) & 140 \(\pm\) 9.3 & 86.1 \(\pm\) 1.5 \\ H\({}_{2}\)O (hot) & 85.4 \(\pm\) 6.6 & 59 \(\pm\) 0.2 \\
**Sänbi** & & \\ Acetone & 275.5 \(\pm\) 8.9 & 318.1 \(\pm\)19.2 \\ H\({}_{2}\)O (cold) & 75.7 \(\pm\) 2.5 & **43 \(\pm\) 1.6** \\ H\({}_{2}\)O (hot) & **46.1 \(\pm\) 9.5** & **29.1 \(\pm\) 0** \\ CHCl\({}_{3}\) fraction & 423.5 \(\pm\)54.3 & 240.4 \(\pm\)28.8 \\ Hexane fraction & 418.5 \(\pm\) 9.6 & 143.7 \(\pm\) 3.3 \\
**Nelspruit** & & \\ Acetone & 333.2 \(\pm\)24.9 & 268 \(\pm\) 29.9 \\ H\({}_{2}\)O (cold) & 62.1 \(\pm\) 6.1 & **36.6 \(\pm\) 0.6** \\ H\({}_{2}\)O (hot) & 83.1 \(\pm\) 3.2 & 56.4 \(\pm\) 4.4 \\ CHCl\({}_{3}\) fraction & 387.4 \(\pm\) 27.3 & 214.2 \(\pm\)13.1 \\ Hexane fraction & 236.5 \(\pm\) 42.1 & 180.2 \(\pm\) 2.7 \\
**Trolox** & 2.4 \(\pm\) 0.8 & 1.6 \(\pm\) 0.0 \\
**Ascorbic Acid** & 2.6 \(\pm\) 0.2 & 1.4 \(\pm\) 0.2 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Antioxidant activities (IC\({}_{50}\) ug/mL) of the _P. obliquuum_ acetone extracts, aqueous extracts, and fractions. **Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, E.T.K., T.E.R., J.N.E. and L.J.M. ; methodology, E.T.K., S.M.N. and M.A.S. ; formal analysis, E.T.K., S.M.N. and M.A.S. ; data curation, E.T.K. ; writing--original draft preparation, E.T.K. ; writing--review and editing, S.M.N., M.A.S., J.N.E., T.E.R., L.J.M. ; supervision, J.N.E., T.E.R., L.J.M. ; funding acquisition, L.J.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. **Funding:** The authors are grateful to the University of Pretoria, National Research Foundation (NRF, grant number 105993) and the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA) for financial assistance. **Institutional Review Board Statement:** The study was approved by the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences Research Ethics Committee, University of Pretoria (REC235-19 on 07/02/2020). **Data Availability Statement:** All data applicable to the article are presented here.