Cytotoxic Activities of Fractions and Two Isolated Compounds from Sirih Merah (Indonesian red betel), Piper Crocatum Ruiz & Pav.

Cytotoxic Cytotoxic activity investigation using brine shrimp lethality test on fractions based on polarity of solvents have been done. Inhibition concentration values of three fractions of methanolic extract of sirih merah (Indonesian red betel), Piper crocatum Ruiz and Pav., showed IC50 values of 2.04; 1.34 and 2.08 μg/mL in n-hexane, ethyl acetate and butanol fractions, respectively. These results reveal that this plant is potential as antitumoral agent and also has a potential to be a candidate for the further investigation of cytotoxic compounds. Two isolated compounds, identified as β-sitosterol and 2-(5’,6’-dimethoxy-3’,4’-methylenedioxyphenyl)-6-(3”,4”,5”-trimethoxyphenyl)-3,7-dioxabicyclo[3,3,0]octane have been isolated from this plant. Characterization of these compounds was carried out based on the NMR data and comparison with data from literature.