Soursop (Annona muricata Lin.) is a plant belonging to the Annonaceae family that has been widely used globally as a traditional medicine for many diseases. In this review, we discuss the traditional use, chemical content, and pharmacological activities of A.muricata. From 49 research articles that were obtained from 1981 to 2021, A.muricata’s activities were shown to include anticancer (25%), antiulcer (17%), antidiabetic (14%), antiprotozoal (10%), antidiarrhea (8%), antibacterial (8%), antiviral (8%), antihypertensive (6%), and wound healing (4%). Several biological activities and the general mechanisms underlying the effects of A.muricata have been tested both in vitro and in vivo. A.muricata contains chemicals such as acetogenins (annomuricins and annonacin), alkaloids (coreximine and reticuline), flavonoids (quercetin), and vitamins, which are predicted to be responsible for the biological activity of A.muricata.

Abstract. During a previous study that aimed to identify anticancer agents within primate-consumed plants, the present group identified that Eugenia aquea (E. aquea) possessed potential as a source of anticancer agents. The ethanol extract of E. aquea leaves exhibited strong inhibitory activity against the proliferation of the human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line. The inhibition of proliferation was determined using an MTT assay. The present study was performed to isolate the active compound within the E. aquea leaves that generated the aforementioned activity, and resulted in the isolation of 2',4'-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-3,5-dimethylchalcone, which was identified through the analysis of spectroscopic data. This compound was examined for its inhibitory activity against the MCF-7 cell line using a MTT assay, and the ability of 2',4'-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-3,5-dimethylchalcone to induce apoptosis through the activation of the poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein was also investigated. The results of the present study revealed that the isolated compound inhibited cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, possessed an IC 50 of 74.5 µg/ml (250 µM) and promoted apoptosis via the activation of PARP. It was concluded that these results indicated a requirement for additional investigations into 2',4'-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-3,5-dimethylchalcone in order to provide a basis for the use of this compound in the management of cancer.

During the last few years, separation techniques using molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been developed, making breakthroughs using magnetic properties. Compared to conventional MIPs, magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) have advantages in sample pretreatment due to their high specificity and selectivity towards analytes as a result of their larger specific surface areas and highly accessible specific binding sites. The techniques of isolation of active compounds from natural products usually require very long process times and low compound yields. When MMIPs are used in sample separation as Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) sorbents, the MMIPs are introduced into the dissolved sample and spread evenly, and they form bonds between the analyte and the MMIPs, which are then separated from the sample matrix using an external magnetic field. This process of separating analytes from the sample matrix makes the separation technique with MMIPs very simple and easy. This review discusses how to synthesize MMIPs, which factors must be considered in their synthesis, and their application in the separation of active compounds from natural products. MMIPs with magnetic core-shells made by co-precipitation can be a good choice for further development due to the high synthesis yield. Further optimization of the factors affecting the size and distribution of magnetic core-shell particles can obtain higher synthesis yields of MMIPs with higher adsorption capacity and selectivity. Thus, they can isolate target compounds from natural plants in high yields and purity.

Abstract. The leaves of Garcinia celebica strongly inhibit the proliferation of MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cell lines. The present study focused on investigating the active anticancer and antiproliferative compound from the G. celebica leaves and assessing its mechanism of action. Ethanol extracts of G. celebica were fractionated based on their polarity using n-hexane, ethyl acetate and water. The antiproliferative properties were tested in vitro against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell lines using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The active compound was subsequently isolated using column chromatography and identified by nuclear magnetic resonance. The characterized compound was also tested for its antiproliferative properties and the mechanism by which it induces apoptosis in MCF-7 cells by western blot analysis of the activated apoptotic proteins. This resulted in the isolation of a friedolanostane triterpenoid, which was determined to be methyl-3α, 23-dihydroxy-17,14-friedolanstan-8,14,24-trien-26-oat. This compound inhibited MCF-7 cell proliferation in a time-and dose-dependent manner with IC 50 values of 82 and 70 µM for the 24 and 48 h treatments, respectively. Furthermore, the western blot analysis suggested that the compound exerted its anticancer activities by promoting apoptosis through the inhibition of the oncogenic protein Akt, thereby increasing the expression of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) protein. These results suggest that methyl-3α,23-dihydrox y-17,14-frie dolanstan-8,14,24-trien-26-oat is the anticancer compound found in G. celebica, providing a basis for its potential use in cancer disease management.

Curcuma zedoaria has been used as a traditional agent against malignant diseases. To elucidate detailed mechanisms producing such an activity, characterization and determination of molecular mechanisms of its antitumor effects was conducted. Inhibiting activities against cell proliferation, invasion and colony formation, and expression levels of corresponding molecules were investigated using human esophageal cancer TE-8 cells treated with the rhizome extract from C. zedoaria. Antitumor effect of the extract administered orally was also examined in tumor-bearing mice. The extract possessed strong anti-proliferation and invasion activities against TE-8 cells. Further, upregulated PTEN and downregulated phosphorylated Akt, mTOR and STAT3 expressions in the cells were induced shortly after treatment with the extract, followed by attenuation of FGFR1 and MMP-2, activation of caspase-9, caspase-3 and PARP, and suppression of Bcl-2 expressions, which led the cells to apoptotic cell death. Furthermore, tumor formation in mice was significantly suppressed through the oral administration of the extract. Taken together, these results suggest that the C. zedoaria extract could be a promising agent against esophageal cancer.

In this study, Callyspongia aerizusa (CA), one of the most popular marine sponges for cancer therapy research, was investigated for its phytochemical compounds and evaluated for its anticancer activity in various cell lines. Since lung cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer, a solution from this marine source is a good choice to address the resistance to anticancer agents. Elucidation of the underlying mechanism of cell death elicited by a CA extract in human lung carcinoma cells A549 was undertaken. Methods: The presence of secondary metabolites in CA methanol extract was revealed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and evaluated on four cancerous cell lines and a non-cancerous cell line using Cell Counting Kit-8. Since the activity of CA extract in A549 cells was then evaluated through clonogenic assay, morphological detection of apoptosis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot assay, were also presented in this study. Results: GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of two ergosteroids, ergost-22-en -3-one, (5β,22E), and ergost-7-en-3-ol, (35β) in the sponge extract that was suggested to suppress A549 cells (IC 50 9.38 μg/mL), and another cancerous cell's viability (IC 50 3.12-10.72 μg/mL) in 24 h, but not in the non-cancerous cells. Moreover, CA extract was also able to reduce the colony-forming ability of A549 cells, and through A549 cells morphology seems that apoptosis is the underlying mechanism of cell death. Further, the treatment with CA extract induced the up-regulation of caspase-9, caspase-3, and PARP-1, and the down-regulation of BCL-2, in both mRNA and proteins expression level, promoting apoptotic cell death via caspase cascade. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the compounds in CA extract possess the ability to induce apoptotic cell death in A549 cells and could become a promising candidate for future anticancer therapy.

Prevalensi luka yang cukup tinggi di Indonesia (8,2%) pada tahun 2013 yang diakibatkan oleh kasus terjatuh (40,9%) dan transportasi kendaraan bermotor (40,6%) memerlukan perhatian berbagai pihak. Diantaranya melalui upaya menumbuhkan kesadaran para pengguna jalan dan edukasi masyarakat akanpentingnya keselamatan. Review ini merupakan hasil penelusuran pustaka yang bertujuan memberikan pengetahuan umum mengenai luka dan bahan alami untuk menyembuhkan luka. Jenis luka yang terjadi bermacam-macam berdasarkan penyebab dan ada tidaknya kontaminasi, yang semuanya memerlukan perawatan agar proses penyembuhan berlangsung cepat. Beberapa bahan alami yang telah terbukti dapat membantu menyembuhkan luka diantaranya yaitu papaya (Carica papaya), babadotan (Ageratum conyzoides), pegagan (Centela asiatica), jarak (Jatropa curcas), kunyit (Curcuma domestica), singkong (Manihot esculenta) dan pisang (Musa paradisiaca).Kata kunci: Luka, bahan alami, menyembuhkan luka.

Objectives: This study aimed to isolate the active compound of Michelia champaca L. bark and test its activity using mechanism-based yeast bioassay.Methods: The bark was extracted by methanol; fractionation was done by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) using n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and water. Theactivity of LLE fractions was tested by mechanism-based yeast bioassay. The most active fraction was then separated by vacuum liquid chromatography,further separated by classical column chromatography and purified by recrystallization. The isolate was characterized by ultraviolet-visible, infraredspectrophotometric method, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and mass spectrometric method.Results: The isolation process resulted in an isolate named MCET51. Characterization data showed that MCET51 was proved as liriodenine (C)with molecular weight 275 (m/z), an aporphine alkaloid. The activity assay showed that liriodenine was active against Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain1140, 1353, and 1138 with IC12 values were 22.15±1.71, 24.76±0.56, and 7.02±1.85 µg/ml, respectively.Conclusions: It can be concluded that M. champaca L. bark contained liriodenine which was active both as topoisomerase I inhibitor andtopoisomerase II inhibitor.Keywords: Michelia champaca L., Topoisomerase inhibitor, Mechanism-based yeast bioassay, Liriodenine.17H9NO3