Dischidia nummularia – a potential plant for cytotoxicity and anti-proliferative activity

Cancer treatment is one of the biggest challenges of the current time as it has high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide, with more than 18 million new cases and above 9 million deaths in year 2018, according to last statistics [1]. Natural sources have enormous potential for the discovery of new drugs against cancer, since 93 drugs approved for the treatment of cancer in the last forty years were from these sources [2]. An epiphytic plant found in north Sumatra Indonesia, Dischidia nummularia R.Br. (Apocynaceae) is used traditionally used for the treatment of cancer [3].

The aim of this study is to find out the relevant constituents of this plant, which are responsible for this activity. Activity-guided isolation of the different extracts (n-hexane, dichloromethane and methanol) of the plant was carried out using human cancer cell lines and different chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques (LC, LC-DAD-MS, GCMS and NMR) for bioassay, isolation and analysis of the chemical constituents, respectively. The n-hexane and dichloromethane extracts of the plant showed strong activity against various cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and CCRF-CEM). 2H-Chromene was isolated for the first time from the n-hexane extract of this plant. In addition, a large number of fatty acids were isolated from the plant along with glycerol-mono-stearate that was also found to be moderately cytotoxic against the cancer cell lines. Isolation of further active compounds is in progress.

• References

• 1 Amaral RG, Dos-Santos SA, Andrade LN, Severino P, Carvalho AA. Natural products as treatment against cancer: a historical and current version. Clin Oncol 2019; 4: 1-5
• 2 Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerhomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Cln 2018; 68: 394-424
• 3 Silalahi M, , Nisyawati, Walujo EB, Supriatna J, Mangunwardoyo W. The local knowledge of medicinal plants trader and diversity of medicinal plants in the Kabanjahe traditional market, north Sumatra, Indonesia. J Ethnopharm 2015; 175: 432-443