Antimalarial and Cytotoxic Activities of Cratoxylum sumatranum (Jack) Bl. Twigs Dichloromethane Extract and Its Phytochemical Profiling by LC-MS/MS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48048/tis.2025.10576Keywords:
Cratoxylum sumatranum, Antimalarial, Cytotoxic, Phytochemical profileAbstract
The genus Cratoxylum has been traditionally used to treat malaria. Several active antimalarial compounds were isolated from C. mangiayi, C. cochinchinense, and C. glaucum. Further exploration of another species within this genus, aparticularly C. sumatranum, is warranted based on a chemotaxonomic approach. This research aims to evaluate the in vitro inhibitory activity of C. sumatranum twig extract against Plasmodium falciparum strains 3D7 and Dd2, assess its cytotoxicity, and analyze metabolites responsible for antimalarial activity. The antimalarial activity was evaluated against P. falciparum strains 3D7 (chloroquine-sensitive) and Dd2 (chloroquine-resistant) using the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay, and cytotoxicity was assessed on BHK-21 cells using the Resazurin assay. In addition, metabolite profiling of the twig extract was performed using LC-MS/MS to identify potential bioactive compounds. The results demonstrated that the dichloromethane extract exhibited high antimalarial activity against P. falciparum strains 3D7 and Dd2 with IC₅₀ values of 0.28 ± 0.55 and 0.66 ± 0.02 µg/mL, respectively, and was considered non-toxic with a CC50 value of 38.11 ± 0.13 μg/mL. The phytochemical profiling by LC-MS/MS revealed that the extract contains compounds including xanthones, flavonoids, anthraquinones, terpenoids, coumarins, chalcones, phenylpropanoids, lignans, and amino acids with potential antimalarial properties. These findings highlight C. sumatranum as a promising candidate for developing new antimalarial agents.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Cratoxylum sumatranum is a traditional medicine to treat fever, stomach ailments, dysentery, burns, and infections
- The dichloromethane extract of sumatranum exhibited high antimalarial activity against P. falciparum strains sensitif (3D7) and resistance (Dd2) and low cytotoxicity against BHK-21 cells
- Dereplication analysis using LC-MS/MS is a rapid and efficient method for identifying compounds in extract
- LC-MS/MS profiling of dichloromethane extract of sumatranum twigs revealed a rich array of metabolites, such as xanthones and flavonoids
- Several xanthones are known to exhibit antimalarial activity by interfering with hemoglobin degradation within the food vacuoles of the parasite
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
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