Antioxidant and Cytotoxicity Activity of Phenolic Compounds from Piper sarmentosum Roxb. Against T47D Human Breast Cancer Cell

Background: Cancer is a major public health burden worldwide. Breast cancer tops the chart as the most common cancer of today and has become the major cause of death in the female population. Approximately 60% of currently applied cancer drugs are derived from natural sources. Piper sarmentosum Roxb. is one of the natural plants that had been traditionally used as herbal medicine. Phytochemical compounds from this plant were reported to be important in the promotion of human health, mainly due to its phenolic compounds, which have been linked with various biomedical properties. Objective: To identify the phenolic profile of P. sarmentosum leaves methanolic extract and to investigate the antioxidant and cytotoxicity activity on human breast carcinoma cells, T47D. Methods: Methanolic extract of P. sarmentosum leaves was analyzed by using Folin-Ciocalteu method and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). In vitro antioxidant study of the extract was carried out using diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging test. In vitro cytotoxicity assay was conducted by using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay. Biochemical test of DNA fragmentation was also applied to study the extract's cytotoxicity effect on T47D mode of cell death. Results: The Total Phenolic Content (TPC) for the P. sarmentosum extract was 89.33 mg GAE/g DM and HPLC revealed the presence of flavonoids and phenolic acids. From the DPPH assay, P. sarmentosum extract exhibited antioxidant activity with the EC50 at 60.24 mu g/mL. The cytotoxicity analysis by MTS assay showed the treatment of T47D cells with the plant extract that caused cytotoxic effect on the cells, with an IC50 value of 2.69 mu g/mL. The DNA fragmentation assay on the extract-treated T47D cells exhibited internucleosomal DNA fragmentation of the cell's genome on an electrophoresis agarose gel. Conclusion: The phenolic compounds identified from P. sarmentosum have cytotoxic effects against breast cancer cells, T47D. These compounds could be a promising anticancer agent candidate for breast cancer treatment. Further studies on the isolation, structural elucidation and mechanism of action on the active compounds are required prior to in vivo and clinical study.