ANTIOXIDANT, ANTIDIABETIC AND CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITIES OF RENNELLIA ELLIPTICA KORTH.

Abstract

Rennellia elliptica is a small tropical shrub that commonly known as ‘segemuk’. The root decoction is traditionally used for health vitality. We have previously isolated Rubia-type anthraquinones from the root extract of Rennellia elliptica. The root extract is a potent antiplasmodial and some of the anthraquinones were strong inhibitors with the IC₅₀ values of less than 2 µM. In continuation of our investigation on the pharmacological potential of R. elliptica, the root extracts and the anthraquinones were screened for antioxidant, antidiabetic and cytotoxic activities. Dichloromethane extract is a strong lipid peroxidation inhibitor but showed no activity against 3T3, MCF7 and 4T1 cancer cell lines and α-glucosidase. The anthraquinones showed weak radical scavenging activities against DPPH radicals. 2-Formyl-3-hydroxy-9,10-anthraquinones, damnacanthal and 2-methyl-3-hydroxy-9,10-anthraquinones showed moderate activity when screened for cytotoxicity using 3T3 cell lines at 30 µg/ml with 74.15, 67.34 and 50.40 %, respectively. When screened using 4T1 and MCF7 cell lines, only 2-formyl-3-hydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone showed moderate cytotoxicity after 72 hours of incubation. 1,2-Dimethoxy-6-methyl-9,10-anthraquinones and damnacanthal showed weak α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with 21.3 and 19.9 %, respectively, when screened at 10 µg/ml.