Abstract:
Micromelum minutum is used widely in traditional folk medicine.
Although this species has been investigated extensively and several bioactive
compounds have been isolated, little work has been done on Indonesian M.
minutum. This research aimed to study the chemical constituents and biological
activities of M. minutum cultivated in Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park,
South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The isolated compounds were assessed for their
cytotoxicity towards MCF-7 and 4T1 cell lines by MTT method. The dried
ground leaves of M. minutum were sequentially macerated with n-hexane, ethyl
acetate, and methanol. The n-hexane and ethyl acetate extracts contained a
flavonoid 5,7-dihydroxy-3,4',8-trimethoxyflavone (1) which inhibited MCF-7
and 4T1 cell viability by 50% at concentrations of 369±8 and 227±5 μM,
respectively. Further separation of the ethyl acetate extract by column
chromatography yielded acetyldihydromicromelin A (2) and a mixture of
dihydromicromelin A (3) and dihydromicromelin B (4), which were not active
toward MCF-7 and 4T1 cells.
Keywords: 5,7-dihydroxy-3,4',8-trimethoxyflavone; breast cancer cell line; cytotoxic
activity; dihydromicromelin derivatives; Micromelum minutum.
