Artocarpus kemando Miq. is a species from the family Moraceae in Indonesia known as the Pudau plant. The purpose of this study is to isolate, characterize, modify and test the antibacterial activity of artocarpin compounds isolated from pudding plants. Stages of research include sample preparation, extraction, isolation, and purification of compounds using chromatographic techniques (TLC, VLC, and CC), characterization of compounds using spectroscopy. The isolated compound was obtained as a yellow crystal with a melting point of 185-187 °C. Based on the results of spectroscopic analysis, showed that the prenylated flavonoids had been successfully isolated, artocarpin in an amount of 35.2 mg. Modification of artocarpin with acetic anhydride produces artocarpin acetate as a yellow crystal. Artocarpin and modified compounds showed antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli.

This research is a continuation of the successful isolation of artocarpin from the root of Artocarpus kemando Miq reported in our previous study. In the previous study, the artocarpin was characterized with UV-Vis and FTIR techniques. In this follow-up investigation, the artocarpin was subjected to a transesterification reaction using acetic anhydride and pyridine as catalysts, and the product of the reaction was specified as compound 1. The compound 1 was further characterized with different techniques to gain more complete data and then tested for anticancer activity test against P-388 murine leukemia cells. Characterizations of the compound 1 using 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR techniques suggest that the modification reaction resulted in the conversion of the -OH groups at C2' and 4' at the artocarpin molecule to -OOCH3, and based on the MS analysis, the compound was proposed to have the molecular formula of C30H32O8. Another important feature of compound 1 that should be noted is the significant improvement in stability compared to the unmodified artocarpin. Anticancer activity tests against P-388 murine leukemia cells revealed that compound 1 has an IC50of 2.35 g/mL, confirming that the compound is categorized as an active anticancer agent and suggesting that the compound has promising potential that deserves further investigations. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-03-05 Full Text: PDF