α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activity of flavonols from Stenochlaena palustris (Burm.f.) Bedd.

Stenochlaena palustris (Burm.f.) Bedd., a fern species native to India, Southeast Asia, Polynesia, and Australia, has a long history of medical including as a diabetic therapy. This study aimed to isolate bioactive compounds from S. palustris ethyl acetate extract and assess their in vitro and in silico inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase and α-amylase. The successful separation of five flavonols, namely stenopalustroside A (1), tiliroside (2), kaempferol (3), quercetin (4), and rutin (5), was achieved through phytochemical analysis. The compounds exhibited a range of inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase and α-amylase, with IC50 values ranging from 40 to 250 µg/mL. Notably, the biological activities of compound 1 have been reported for the first time. Compound 4 was the most effective inhibitor of both enzymes among the isolated compounds. Studies performed in silico reveal that the interactions between amino acids in compounds 4 and 5 are remarkably comparable to those observed in the positive control. These compounds share this commonality, and as a result, they both have the potential to be active agents.

Phytochemistry and Pharmacology of Medicinal Plants Used by the Tenggerese Society in Java Island of Indonesia.

The archipelagic country of Indonesia is inhabited by 300 ethnic groups, including the indigenous people of Tengger. Based on the reported list of medicinal plants used by the Tengger community, we have reviewed each of them for their phytochemical constituents and pharmacological activities. Out of a total of 41 medicinal plants used by the Tengerrese people, 33 species were studied for their phytochemical and pharmacological properties. More than 554 phytochemicals with diverse molecular structures belonging to different chemical classes including flavonoids, terpenoids, saponins and volatiles were identified from these studied 34 medicinal plants. Many of these medicinal plants and their compounds have been tested for various pharmacological activities including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, wound healing, headache, antimalarial and hypertension. Five popularly used medicinal plants by the healers were Garcinia mangostana, Apium graveolens, Cayratia clematidea, Drymocallis arguta and Elaeocarpus longifolius. Only A. graviolens were previously studied, with the outcomes supporting the pharmacological claims to treat hypertension. Few unexplored medicinal plants are Physalis lagascae, Piper amplum, Rosa tomentosa and Tagetes tenuifolia, and they present great potential for biodiscovery and drug lead identification.

Anti-Infective and Anti-Cancer Properties of the Annona Species: Their Ethnomedicinal Uses, Alkaloid Diversity, and Pharmacological Activities.

Annona species have been a valuable source of anti-infective and anticancer agents. However, only limited evaluations of their alkaloids have been carried out. This review collates and evaluates the biological data from extracts and purified isolates for their anti-infective and anti-cancer activities. An isoquinoline backbone is a major structural alkaloid moiety of the Annona genus, and more than 83 alkaloids have been isolated from this genus alone. Crude extracts of Annona genus are reported with moderate activities against Plasmodium falciparum showing larvicidal activities. However, no pure compounds from the Annona genus were tested against the parasite. The methanol extract of Annona muricata showed apparent antimicrobial activities. The isolated alkaloids from this genus including liriodenine, anonaine, asimilobine showed sensitivity against Staphylococcus epidermidis. Other alkaloids such as (+)-Xylopine and isocoreximine indicated significant anti-cancer activity against A549 and K-562 cell lines, respectively. This review revealed that the alkaloids from Annona genus are rich in structural diversity and pharmacological activities. Further exploration of this genus and their alkaloids has potential for developing novel anti-infective and anticancer drugs.

Anti-cancer bioprospecting on medicinal plants from Indonesia: A review.

The Indonesian archipelago is home to the second largest biodiversity in the world and is inhabited by more than 300 ethnic groups with a total population of more than 270 million. The indigenous population still rely on traditional medicine practices, especially the use of plant-based remedies. Although modern science-based exploration on Indonesian medicinal plants started with the European settlement in the archipelago in the 16th century, it was not until the 1970's that the phytochemistry of Indonesian medicinal plants was recognized for its potency. The need for new cancer cures to increase the quality of human life has led to the bioprospecting of medicinal plants including those of Indonesian origin. Despite published reports on the anticancer potency of Indonesian medicinal plants, to date there has been no comprehensive review on this topic. In this manuscript, we review the phytochemical and pharmacological studies on medicinal plants from Indonesia related to cancer therapy. Established databases (GARUDA, SciFinder, and PubMed) were used to collate data from 1990 to 2022, resulting in the description of 134 medicinal plants and their phytochemical and pharmacological properties including examples containing potent agents against breast, leukaemia, cervix, lung, and colon cancer cell lines based on in vitro bioassays and in vivo evaluation. These findings provide valuable insights into the bioprospecting of Indonesian medicinal plant providing directions for future studies, including the development of new therapeutics, both as botanicals or by using conventional dosage.

Indonesian marine and its medicinal contribution.

The archipelagic country of Indonesia is populated by the densest marine biodiversity in the world which has created strong global interest and is valued by both Indigenous and European settlements for different purposes. Nearly 1000 chemicals have been extracted and identified. In this review, a systematic data curation was employed to collate bioprospecting related manuscripts providing a comprehensive directory based on publications from 1988 to 2022. Findings with significant pharmacological activities are further discussed through a scoping data collection. This review discusses macroorganisms (Sponges, Ascidian, Gorgonians, Algae, Mangrove) and microorganism (Bacteria and Fungi) and highlights significant discoveries, including a potent microtubule stabilizer laulimalide from Hyattella sp., a prospective doxorubicin complement papuamine alkaloid from Neopetrosia cf exigua, potent antiplasmodial manzamine A from Acanthostrongylophora ingens, the highly potent anti trypanosomal manadoperoxide B from Plakortis cfr. Simplex, mRNA translation disrupter hippuristanol from Briareum sp, and the anti-HIV-1 (+)-8-hydroxymanzamine A isolated from Acanthostrongylophora sp. Further, some potent antibacterial extracts were also found from a limited biomass of bacteria cultures. Although there are currently no examples of commercial drugs from the Indonesian marine environment, this review shows the molecular diversity present and with the known understudied biodiversity, reveals great promise for future studies and outcomes.

Free Radical Scavenging, Anti-Infectious, and Toxicity Activities from Stenochlaena palustris (Burm.f.) Bedd. Extracts.

Stenochlaena palustris (Burm.f.) Bedd. (Blechnaceae) or Kelakai is a traditional medicinal plant found in the Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra. It has been used to treat wound healing, infection, and diabetes. This study looked into the free radical scavenging activity, antiplasmodial activity, toxicity, and antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria. The species' aerial part was extracted with methanol, followed by a liquid-liquid extraction against (n-hexane, dichloromethane, and ethyl acetate). The extracts' free radical scavenging activities were determined using DPPH and NO radicals. The antiplasmodial and toxicity assays were conducted using two Plasmodium falciparum strains (3D7 and W2) and the brine shrimp lethality test. In addition, antibacterial activity was determined using the well diffusion method. The results revealed that ethyl acetate depicted potential activities toward the assay. The ethyl acetate showed potential free radical scavenging activities with an IC50 value of 51.63 ± 0.46 µg/mL (DPPH) and 60.03 ± 0.65 µg/mL (NO). The antiplasmodial activities showed that the ethyl acetate had potential activities among the extracts with an IC50 value of 11.06 ± 0.45 µg/mL. However, all the extracts demonstrated nontoxic toward Artemia salina with LC50 > 1000 µg/mL. Furthermore, the ethyl acetate demonstrated intermediate susceptibility against B. cereus ATCC 10876, V. parahaemolyticus ATCC 17802, L. monocytogenes ATCC 7644, and S. Typhimurium ATCC 14028 at a concentration of 500 µg/disc. According to these findings, the ethyl acetate extract of S. palustris (Burm.f.) Bedd is a promising source of natural antioxidants and antiplasmodial agents.

Anthelmintic and antimicrobial activities of three new depsides and ten known depsides and phenols from Indonesian lichen: Parmelia cetrata Ach.

An extensive phytochemical study of a foliose lichen from Indonesia, Parmelia cetrata, resulted in the successful isolation of 13 phenol and depside derivatives (1-13) including the previously unreported depsides 3'-hydroxyl-5'-pentylphenyl 2,4-dihydroxyl-6-methylbenzoate (7), 3'-hydroxyl-5'-propylphenyl 2,4-dihydroxyl-6-methylbenzoate (8) and 3'-hydroxyl-5'-methylphenyl 2-hydroxyl-4-methoxyl-6-propylbenzoate (9). The anti-infective activity of isolated compounds was evaluated against the gram-negative bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. 2,4-Dihydroxyl-6-pentylbenzoate (5) and lecanoric acid (6) induced growth inhibition of A. fischeri with inhibition values of 49% and 100% at a concentration of 100 µM, respectively. The antibacterial activity might be due to their free carboxyl group. A phenolic group at C4 also contributed to the antimicrobial activity of the depsides as shown for compounds 7 and 8, which caused 89% and 96% growth inhibition at 100 µM, respectively. Lecanoric acid (6) in addition possesses significant anthelmintic effects causing 80% mortality of C. elegans at 100 µg/mL.

Vascular Epiphytic Medicinal Plants as Sources of Therapeutic Agents: Their Ethnopharmacological Uses, Chemical Composition, and Biological Activities.

This is an extensive review on epiphytic plants that have been used traditionally as medicines. It provides information on 185 epiphytes and their traditional medicinal uses, regions where Indigenous people use the plants, parts of the plants used as medicines and their preparation, and their reported phytochemical properties and pharmacological properties aligned with their traditional uses. These epiphytic medicinal plants are able to produce a range of secondary metabolites, including alkaloids, and a total of 842 phytochemicals have been identified to date. As many as 71 epiphytic medicinal plants were studied for their biological activities, showing promising pharmacological activities, including as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer agents. There are several species that were not investigated for their activities and are worthy of exploration. These epipythes have the potential to furnish drug lead compounds, especially for treating cancers, and thus warrant indepth investigations.

Anti-cancer Evaluation of Depsides Isolated from Indonesian Folious Lichens: Physcia millegrana, Parmelia dilatata and Parmelia aurulenta.

Cancer is a serious health burden on global societies. The discovery and development of new anti-cancer therapies remains a challenging objective. Although it has been shown that lichen secondary metabolites may be potent sources for new anti-cancer agents, the Indonesian- grown folious lichens, Physcia millegrana,Parmelia dilatata and Parmeila aurulenta, have not yet been explored. In this study exhaustive preparative high-performance liquid chromatography was employed to isolate the lichen constituents with spectroscopic and spectrometric protocols identifying nine depsides 9-17, including the new methyl 4-formyl-2,3-dihydroxy-6-methylbenzoate 13. The cytotoxicity of the depsides towards cancer cells was assessed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results indicated lowest toxicity of the depsides towards human A549 lung cancer cells. Importantly, the di-depsides (11, 12 and 17) showed greatest toxicity, indicating that these structures are biologically more active than the mono-depsides against the HepG2 liver cancer, A549 lung cancer and HL-60 leukemia cell lines.