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Exploring the Cytotoxic Activity of Dillenia serrata Thunb. Leaf Extracts: An In Vitro and In Silico Investigation
Herlina Rasyid1, Nunuk Hariani Soekamto1, Bulkis Musa1
1Chemistry Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, South Sulawesi 90245, Indonesia.
Objective:
Dillenia serrata Thunb. an endemic plant from Sulawesi Island, has been used by the local community as medicine for some diseases. However, studies related to these plants are still limited to several diseases. This study intends to investigate the cytotoxic activity of Dillenia serrata Thunb. leaves extract as an anticancer.
Methods:
This study was preceded by gradual maceration and then subjected to phytochemical test to evaluate the contain of secondary metabolites such as alkaloid, flavonoid, tannin, steroid, terpenoid, and saponin, toxicity assay by BSLT method, cytotoxicity test against HeLa cell lines, further compound identification using GC-MS analysis and in silico analysis.
Results:
The phytochemical tests demonstrated the presence of tannins, steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids, and saponins. The toxicity test indicated that all three extracts were toxic for Artemia salina L. as the premier test before the cytotoxicity test using HeLa cell lines. The LC50 values for the n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol extracts were 58.27±6.15, 11.06±1.70, and 9.30±1.13 μg/mL, respectively. After evaluating the extracts' cytotoxicity activity, the ethyl acetate extract has the strongest activity with 91.08±0.23 μg/mL, then this extract was further identified using GC-MS analysis and reveals 51 chemicals which is Phytol as the main components in the extract with %area about 25.64%. Molecular docking analysis of Phytol against Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) showed a good binding energy of around -5.08 kcal/mol. The molecular dynamics simulation supports this result.
Conclusion:
All extracts demonstrated intense toxicity levels. Out of all the extracts, ethyl acetate extract exhibited the strongest cytotoxic properties to HeLa cell lines with IC50 value 91.08±0.23 μg/mL. Ethyl acetate extract of D. serrata T. contains Phytol compounds which have a quite good affinity to the EGFR. According to this study, ethyl acetate extract has the potential to be used as an alternative to anticancer medication.
