Honey is a sweet substance that can be obtain from flower nectar and secretes through transformations process by honey bees. The aim of this study was to compare the antioxidant and anti-cholinesterase activities of 4 wild honey (wild honey produced by different species of bees: Apis cerana, Apis andreniformis, Apis koschevnikovi and Apis nuluensis) collected from the secondary forest and 6 commercial (young and old Mangrove, young and old Upper mountain, Tropical, Potiukan) honey of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Antioxidant activities were determined using FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power), DPPH free radical scavenging and ABTS decolourization assays. Acetylcholinesterase inhibition effect was determined by enzyme inhibition method. The results of this study showed that wild honey produced by A.cerana collected from the Acacia tree extracted using 80% methanol displayed the highest DPPH free radical scavenging activity and ABTS decolorization assays. Whereas wild honey produced by A.nuluensis collected from the Chestnut tree extracted using 80% methanol displayed the highest FRAP activity. The wild honey produced by A. nuluensis also displayed the highest acetylcholinesterase properties as the antioxidant compounds contributed to the inhibitory properties of the enzyme. Manuka honey (produced from tea tree) found to be higher in antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase properties as compared to all other samples. The same trend of bioactivity was also observed in absolute methanol extracts. Strong positive correlation was found between antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase activity. Therefore, honey has the potential as natural antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibition sources with promising potential benefits to human’s health.
The present work investigated the cytotoxicity capacity of the MDA-MB-231 (human
cancer-derived), A549 (human lung cancer-derived), Caov3 (human ovarian cancer-derived),
and HeLa (human cervical cancer-derived) cell lines on a wide range of tea leaves; green tea,
black tea, tea waste, and compost from Sabah. A group of male and female Sprague Dawley
rats was used to screen the sub-acute toxicity of green tea extract in tea leaves from Sabah for
28 d. Results revealed that the ethanol extract of tea leaves had strong cytotoxic activity
against all cancer lines. Tea waste showed higher cytotoxicity when extracted using hot water.
The ethanol extract of black tea leaves exhibited the highest inhibitory activity against the
proliferation of Caov3, whereas the ethanol extract of green tea leaves exhibited a promising
cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 and HeLa cell lines. Toxicity studies showed
decreased testes weight and increased liver weight in male rats that were administered with
5000 mg/kg of tea extract. This coincided with the significant increase portrayed by enzyme
alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in the serum of treated male rats in the 5000 mg/kg dose
group. Moreover, there was an increase of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and ALT for the
female rats in the 5000 mg/kg dose group. The increased levels of ALT and ALP enzymes, as
well as liver weight, signified mechanical trauma in the liver of male and female rats in the
5000 mg/kg dose group.
Introduction: This research was conducted to investigate the effects of Catharanthus roseus (Kemunting Cina), Kalanchoe laciniata (Setawar Kampung) and Piper longum (Kadok Kampung) on the in vitro proliferation of hormone dependent breast cancer (MCF-7) and colon cancer (Caco2) cell lines. Methodology:The effects of Catharanthus roseus, Kalanchoe laciniata and Piper longum extracts (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts) on the cytotoxicity of MCF-7 and Caco2 cell lines were measured using (3-4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide) (MTT) assay. Results: Kalanchoe laciniata hexane extract showed significant inhibitions on MCF-7 carcinoma cell lines proliferation with IC50 value of 75.7 µg/ml. Catharanthus roseus extracts (hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate) inhibited MCF-7 cells proliferation at concentrations of 80, 70 and 90 mg/ml, respectively. Discussion: IC50 value of all extracts of Piper longum and Kalanchoe laciniata chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts on the proliferation of MCF-7 cancer cells could not be determined, as it did not demonstrate any appreciable inhibition on the cellular proliferation at the concentration tested. However, Piper longum chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts showed anti-tumourigenic effect against colon cancer (Caco2) with IC50 of 87 mg/ml and 20 mg/ml, respectively. Kalanchoe laciniata hexane extracts inhibited Caco2 cellular proliferation with IC50 value of 100 mg/ml. Catharanthus roseus chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts inhibited Caco2 proliferation at IC50 of 28.2 µg/ml and 74.1 mg/ml, respectively. Conclusion: From this study, it can be concluded that only hexane extract of Kalanchoe laciniata was effective against cellular proliferations of MCF-7 while Piper longum was more effective in inhibiting Caco2 proliferations. However, both the herbs were not so effective against MCF-7 and Caco2 cell lines compared with Catharanthus roseus. Keywords: Catharanthus roseus, Kalanchoe laciniata, Piper longum, cytotoxicity