Sains Malaysiana 51(3)(2022): 873-882

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2022-5103-21

Chemical Constituents and Antiproliferative Activity of Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.

(Kandungan Kimia dan Aktiviti Antiproliferatif Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn).

SYAHIRAH SUKOR¹, ZURIATI ZAHARI¹, NORINA RAHIM¹, JULIANA YUSOFF² & FATIMAH SALIM^2,3,* 

¹Faculty of Applied Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

²Atta-Ur-Rahman Institute for Natural Product and Discovery (AuRins), Universiti Teknologi MARA, Puncak Alam Campus, 42300 Bandar Puncak Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

³Centre of Foundation Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Dengkil Campus, 43800 Dengkil, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Received: 1 January 2021/Accepted: 12 August 2021

Abstract

Eleusine indica, locally known as ‘rumput sambau’ is widely used by traditional practitioners in many parts of the world to treat various ailments including sprained muscle, asthma, black jaundice, stomach pain, diarrhea, convulsions, and those related to infection such as malaria, influenza, dysentery as well as pneumonia. The plant has been reported to possess a wide array of biological activities, which were antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antipyretic, antiplasmodial, antiviral, hepatoprotective, and urolithiasis. Despite all the reported traditional uses and biological activities, not many chemical constituents have been isolated from the plant. In this work, E. indica methanolic and hexane extracts were assessed for their anti-proliferative activities against human liver cancer (HepG2) and African green monkey kidney epithelial normal (Vero) cell lines through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide  (MTT) assay. Although both extracts were considered to be not active on both cell lines with an IC₅₀ of 91.02 ± 5.74 and 85.30 ± 3.03 µg/mL, and CC₅₀ of >1000 and 639.39 ± 13.97 µg/mL, they were nevertheless more selective towards HepG2 cancer cells compared to the Vero normal cells with selectivity indexes (SI) of 10.99 and 7.50, respectively. Chemical profiling of the extracts on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with a diode array detector showed a mixture of different complexity and polarities of compounds. Further isolation and purification on the hexane extract afforded β-sitosterol and stigmasterol, while the methanolic extract yielded loliolide, a benzofuran type of compound. Loliolide has been previously reported to exhibit antitumor activity, which could correlate to the higher antiproliferative selectivity against HepG2 cancer cell line of the methanolic compared to the hexane extracts. This is the first report on the isolation of β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and loliolide from E. indica.

Keywords: Antiproliferative; chemical profile; Eleusine indica; HepG2 cell; loliolide; Vero cell

Abstrak

Eleusine indica, atau nama tempatannya ‘rumput sambau’ digunakan secara meluas oleh pengamal perubatan tradisi di kebanyakan negara untuk merawat pelbagai jenis penyakit termasuk terseliuh otot, asma, penyakit kuning, sakit perut, cirit-birit, sawan dan yang berkaitan dengan jangkitan seperti malaria, influenza, disentri serta radang paru-paru, termasuklah Malaysia. Dalam kajian ini, ekstrak metanol dan heksana E. indica dinilai untuk aktiviti anti-proliferatifnya terhadap sel tunggal barah hati manusia (HepG2) dan sel tunggal ginjal monyet hijau Afrika (Vero) melalui asai 3-(4,5-dimetiltiazol-2-yl)-2,5-difenil tetrazolium bromide (MTT). Walaupun kedua-dua ekstrak dianggap tidak aktif pada kedua-dua jenis sel tunggal dengan nilai masing-masing IC₅₀ 91.02 ± 5.74 dan 85.30 ± 3.03 µg/mL, dan CC₅₀ > 1000 dan 639.39 ± 13.97 µg/mL, namun mereka lebih selektif terhadap sel kanser HepG2 dibandingkan sel normal Vero dengan indeks selektiviti (SI) masing-masing 10.99 dan 7.50. Profil kimia ekstrak pada kromatografi cecair berprestasi tinggi (UHPLC) yang dilengkapi dengan alat pengesan dioda menunjukkan campuran kerumitan dan polariti sebatian yang berbeza. Kerja pengasingan dan pemurnian lebih lanjut pada ekstrak heksana menghasilkan β-sitosterol dan stigmasterol, sementara ekstrak metanol menghasilkan loliolida iaitu sejenis sebatian benzofuran. Loliolida sebelumnya dilaporkan menunjukkan aktiviti antitumor, yang mungkin boleh dikaitkan dengan antiproliferatif selektiviti terhadap sel tunggal barah HepG2 yang lebih tinggi oleh ekstrak metanol dibandingkan dengan ekstrak heksana. Ini adalah laporan pertama mengenai pemencilan β-sitosterol, stigmasterol dan loliolida daripada E. indica.

Kata kunci: Antiproliferatif; Eleusine indica; loliolida; profil kimia; sel tunggal HepG2; sel tunggal Vero

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^*Corresponding author; email: fatimah2940@uitm.edu.my