Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Cytotoxicity Activities of Leaves, Bark, Twigs and Oleo-Resin of Dipterocarpus alatus

Abstract

Dipterocarpus alatus (Dipterocarpaceae) is a medicinal plant whose use is well known for the treatment of genito-urinary diseases. However, there is no report of its cytotoxic potential. In this study, the chemical composition, antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of extracts of the leaves, bark, twigs and oleo-resin from D. alatus are investigated. Cytotoxicity was measured by the neutral red (NR) assay against HCT116, SKLU1, SK-MEL2, SiHa and U937 cancer cell lines and antioxidant capacity was evaluated by DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The chemical composition was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Leaf, bark and twig extracts exhibited stronger antioxidant activity than oleo-resin, with bark extract showing the highest antioxidant activity and the highest total phenolic content. All samples showed more cytotoxic activity against the U937 cell line than HCT116, SKLU1, SK-MEL2 and SiHa cells with oleo-resin being more cytotoxic than melphalan against U937 cells. Chemical composition analysis of oleo-resin by GC-MS showed that the major components were sesquiterpenes, namely α-gurjunene (30.31%), (-)-isoledene (13.69%), alloaromadendrene (3.28%), β-caryophyllene (3.14%), γ-gurjunene (3.14%) and spathulenol (1.11%). The cytotoxic activity of oleo-resin can be attributed to the sesquiterpene content, whereas the cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of leaf, bark and twig extracts correlated to total phenolic content.

Anti-Cancer Potential of Cannabinoids, Terpenes, and Flavonoids Present in Cannabis

“…Inhibited cell growth when found in an essential oil extract [299][300][301]. Induced apoptosis [299] N/A N/A…”

“…The essential oil from the leaves of Annona sylvatica , in which γ-gurjunene is present, showed inhibitory effects on growth in all cell lines tested when administered at high concentrations (GI 50 values ranging from 36–45 μg/mL on all of the cell lines tested) [ 299 ]. Using Dipterocarpus alatus extracts (a medicinal plant used for the treatment of genito-urinary diseases) where the major components were α-gurjunene (30.31%), (−)-isoledene (13.69%), alloaromadendrene (3.28%), β-caryophyllene (3.14%) and γ-gurjunene (3.14%), cytotoxic activity of the oleo-resin was credited to its sesquiterpene content [ 300 ]. While none of these studies were done with pure compounds, they do suggest some potential anticancer activity by gurjunene compounds.…”

Comparison of Bioactive Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activities of Different Parts of Taraxacum mongolicum

“…DPPH molecule is a stable synthetic free radical which is widely used to evaluate the ability of compounds to act as free radical scavengers or radical hydrogen donors, and the DPPH scavenging activity assay was performed in accordance with a modified method of Tuberoso et al [ 25 , 26 ]. Briefly, 100 μL of different parts (flowers, leaves, roots) of TM extract (60% methanol) was mixed with 100 μL of DPPH (0.2 mM) in methanol, after incubation for 30 min in darkness.…”

Antibacterial Activity of Dipterocarpus alatus Twig Extract against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

“…6 Due to a large number of bioactive constituents in D. alatus, including sesquiterpenes, triterpenes, and coumarin derivatives, antioxidant and cytotoxic effects have been reported. 7,8 Oligostilbenoids from D. alatus have been reported to have acetylcholine esterase inhibitory effects. 9 Vaticaffinol, a resveratrol tetramer from ethanol D. alatus crude extract, was shown to inhibit xanthine dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase activities in mouse livers.…”