Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Isolation of cytotoxic triterpenes from the mangrove plant, Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea C.F.Gaertn (Rubiaceae)

Sameera R Samarakoon¹ , Meran K Ediriweera¹, Lakshan Wijayabandara¹, Nisala Fernando¹, Luxmiga Tharmarajah¹, Kamani H Tennekoon¹, Poorna Piyathilaka¹, Achyut Adhikari^2,3

¹Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, No. 90, Cumaratunga Munidasa Mawatha, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka; ²Central Department of Chemistry, Tribhuvan University, Kritipur, Kathmandu, Nepal; ³HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan.

For correspondence:- Sameera Samarakoon Email: sam@ibmbb.cmb.ac.lk

Accepted: 20 February 2018 Published: 31 March 2018

Citation: Samarakoon SR, Ediriweera MK, Wijayabandara L, Fernando N, Tharmarajah L, Tennekoon KH, et al. Isolation of cytotoxic triterpenes from the mangrove plant, Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea C.F.Gaertn (Rubiaceae). Trop J Pharm Res 2018; 17(3):475-481 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v17i3.13

© 2018 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To isolate active cytotoxic compounds from the hexane and chloroform extracts of the leaves of the mangrove plant, Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea C.F. Gaertn (Rubiaceae), grown in Sri Lanka.

Methods: Dried pulverized leaves of S. hydrophyllacea were extracted with hexane and chloroform. Vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC), column chromatography (size exclusion chromatography, Sephadex LH-20) and reversed phase preparative recycling high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques were used to isolate three compounds (compounds 1, 2 and 3). The structures of the isolated compounds were established with the aid of ¹H, ¹³C and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D-NMR) and electron ionization-mass spectrometry (EI-MS) techniques. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of the compounds on oestrogen receptor positive breast (MCF-7) and non-small cell lung (NCI-H-292) cancer cells.

Results: The isolated compounds were identified as oleanolic acid (1), ursolic acid (2) and eichlerianic acid (3). Ursolic acid and eichlerianic acid showed strong cytotoxic effects {IC₅₀- ursolic acid: 8.47 µg/mL (24 h, MCF-7), 7.78 µg/mL (24 h, NCI-H292) and eichlerianic acid: 8.86 µg/mL (24 h, MCF-7), 10.15 µg/mL (24 h, NCI-H292)} in MCF-7 and NCI-H292 cancer cells at 24, 48 and 72 h post-incubation periods.

Conclusion: Hexane and chloroform extracts of the leaves of S. hydrophyllacea yielded three compounds namely oleanolic acid, eichlerianic acid and ursolic acid. Ursolic acid and eichlerianic acid have been isolated for the first time from the leaves of S. hydrophyllacea grown in Sri Lanka and demonstrate in-vitro cytotoxic effects in oestrogen receptor positive (MCF-7) and non-small lung cancer (NCI-H-292) cells

Keywords: Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea, eichlerianic acid, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, MCF-7, NCI-H-292