Phytochemical analysis and cytotoxic activity of ant plant (Myrmecodia tuberosa Jack.)
Paper Details
Phytochemical analysis and cytotoxic activity of ant plant (Myrmecodia tuberosa Jack.)
Abstract
Myrmecodia tuberosa Jack (Rubiaceae) has been used as part of traditional Philippine remedies for a wide range of therapeutic usages. The results of this will prove the curability and effectiveness of this plant to some diseases and illnesses, and for the safety of aqueous and its ethanolic extracts. The present study was aimed to evaluate phytochemical constituents and to determine its toxicity. Qualitative phytochemical analysis was done by standard laboratory grade reagents and toxicity test was done using Brine Shrimp Lethality Analysis (BSLA). Results revealed that the phytochemical screening of tuber and leaf crude ethanolic extracts indicated the presence of saponins, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, and phenolic compounds. The brine shrimp lethality test of the ethanolic extracts of M. tuberosa tuber and leaves indicated LC50 values of 38.68 and 126.62 μg/ml respectively. On the other hand, the decoction of tuber and leaves were toxic at LC50 of 132.6 and 441.6 μg/ml respectively. From the results obtained, M. tuberosa extracts contained active compounds and that the ethanolic extracts were more potent for cytotoxic activity against brine shrimp as compared to the decoction.
Abdul WI, Mohamad HF, Mizaton H, Ponto T. 2011. Stigmasterol from a Pandanus and Myrmecodia species. Proceedings of International Symposium on Humanities, Science and Engineering Research, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Cayetano J, Henry S. 1984. The handbook of modern natural cures and health building. Manila: Eastern Publishing Association
Efendi Y, Hertiani T. 2010. Antimicrobial Potency of Ant-Plant Extract (Myrmecodia tuberosa) Against C. albicans, E. coli and S. aureus. Universities Gadjah Mada, India.
Farnsworth N, Sojarto L. 1984. Ethnopharmacology and drug development. Ciba Found Symposium 185, 42-51.
Finney D. 1971. Probit Analysis. 3rd Edition Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Guevarra B. 2005. A guidebook to phytochemical screening: Phytochemical and biological. Manila: UST Publishing House
Hamsar M, Mizaton H. 2012. Potential of Ant-Nest Plants as an Alternative Cancer Treatment. Journal of Pharmacy Research 5(6), 3063-3066.
Harborne J. 1979. Phytochemicals and Methods. 2nd ed. London: Chapman and Hall Ltd.
Heslem A, Hohmann J, Azimahtol H, Forgo P. 1989. Anti-proliferative compounds from Hydnophytum formicarium. Journal of Tropical Medicinal Plants 9(2), 366-371.
Huxely C. 1978. The ant plants Myrmecodia and Hydnophytum (Rubiaceae), and the relationships between their morphology, ant occupants. New Phytologist 80, 231-268.
Itharat A, Houghton P, Burke P, Sampson J, Raman A. 2004. In vitro cytotoxic activity of Thai medicinal plants used traditionally to treat cancer. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 90, 33-38.
Kadota S. 2002. Antiproliferative activity of Vietnamese medicinal plants. Biology of Pharmacolgy Bullitin 25, 753-760.
Krishnaraju A, Rao T, Sundararaju D. 2005. Assessment of bioactivity of Indian medicinal plants using brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethality assay. International Journal of Applied Sciences and Engineering 3(2), 125-134.
Meyer B, Ferrigni N, Putnam J, Nichols D.1982. Brine shrimp: A convenient general bioassay for active plant constituents. Plant Medicines 45:31-34.
Soeksmanto A, Subroto M, Wijaya H, Simanjuntak P. 2010. Anticancer Activity Test for Extracts of Sarang Semut Plant (Myrmecodya pendens) to Hela and MCM-B2 Cells, Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences, 13 (3).
Sofowora A. 1982. Medicinal plants and traditional medicine in Africa spectrum books, 1st Edition.
Quisumbing E. 1978. Medicinal Plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Company. University of Michigan.
Meljan T. Demetillo, Mirasol L. Baguio, Mylene M. Uy, Olga M. Nuñeza, 2017. Phytochemical analysis and cytotoxic activity of ant plant (Myrmecodia tuberosa Jack.). J. Biodiv. Environ. Sci., 11(6), 85-91.
Copyright © 2017 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.