Antioxidant compounds and capacities of Gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng) fruits

Objective: To identify and determine the composition of antioxidant compounds, and to evaluate the antioxidant abilities of Gac fruit parts(peel, pulp, seed and aril) grown in Malaysia. Methods: LC-MS/MS was used for identification of antioxidant compounds and UV-Vis for estimation of the contents of phenolics, flavonoids, and carotenoids. Lycopene and β-carotene were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography. DPPH(2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays were employed to evaluate antioxidant capacities. Results: Phytochemicals were found amongst all the fruit parts. Notably, significant amounts of carotenoids [(107.4 ± 4.5),(85.7 ± 4.4),(110.6 ± 2.1) mg/100 g dry weight(DW)], and relatively high levels of both phenolics [(27.3 ± 1.7),(28.9 ± 2.4),(30.8 ± 2.7) mg/100 g DW] and flavonoids [(38.1 ± 2.2),(8.8 ± 1.3),(24.5 ± 3.3) mg/100 g DW] were found in the fruit's peel, pulp and aril, respectively. Seed part also showed a relatively high level of flavonoids [(18.1 ± 2.3) mg/100 g DW]. Lycopene and β-carotene were found to be significantly high(P < 0.05) in aril [(579.3 ± 22.7) and(621.0 ± 35.0) μg/g DW], followed by peel [(51.0 ± 7.5) and(210.0 ± 12.5) μg/g DW] and pulp [(37.6 ± 10.9) and(205.6 ± 22.1) μg/g DW)]. Antioxidant assays revealed that aril possessed the highest scavenging activity(IC_(50) = 865 μg/mL), while the peel possessed the highest ferric reducing power of 140 μmol FeSO4/μg. Conclusions: The current results demonstrate that Gac fruit grown in Malaysia is a rich source of phytochemicals, especially carotenoids, and possesses antioxidant activities. Thus, such findings suggest Gac fruit as a source of an antioxidant plant.

Anticancer potential of Alternanthera sessilis extract on HT-29 human colon cancer cells

Objective: To identify the bioactive extracts from Alternanthera sessilis and investigate its cytotoxicity potential against colon cancer cells, HT-29. Methods: This study examined the effects of three parts(aerial, leaf, stem) of whole plant on HT-29 colon cancer cell lines. Three different extracts from the plant parts were prepared by maceration technique using 80% ethanol. The anticancer activities were determined using MTT, clonogenic, cell motility and AOPI assay. The chemical composition profiling was analyzed by GC-MS. Results: Among three plant part extracts, leaf extract greatly suppressed the growth of colon cancer cells in time and dosage-dependent manner, followed by aerial and stem. The cytotoxicity results were rationalized with clonogenic, cell motility and AO/PI assay, where extract showed the most active activity compared to aerial and stem extracts. GC-MS analysis of leaf extract showed there were various recognized anti-cancer, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. Conclusions: Amid the screened extracts, the leaf extract exhibits the credible cytotoxic, anti-proliferative and apoptotic activity and hence, our findings call for additional research to conclude the active compounds and their mechanisms determining the apoptotic activity.