Invertigation of Anti-Cancer Poperties on Hexane Extract of Daun Gatal (Laportea decumana)

Abstract

In the past 10 years, cancer research has been increasing and the discovery of new anticancer properties is targeted by the scientist. Medicinal plants are considered as the target for developing new anticancer drugs since it is more tolerable and has less side effects. Laportea decumana is one of the plants that grows in Papua, Indonesia. It has been used as the anti-fatigue and anti-stiff. It has been investigated to have compounds that have an anticancer potential. This study primarily aims to investigate the possibility of using hexane extract of Laportea decumana leaves as an anticancer agent through in vitro assessment to see the capability of the extract to inhibit the growth of the HeLa cells by conducting MTT assay. The resulst suggested that Laportea decumana contains anticancer compounds such as terpenoid, alkaloid, tannin and steroid. It also able to decrease the growth of HeLa cells with the IC50 at the concentration of 521 μg/mL (logIC50=2.717). However, future study is needed to access the exact mechanism of the extract as an anticancer.