Study on the Antimitotic Effect of Syzygium oblanceolatum C.B. Rob Merr Stem Bark Extract through Sea Urchin (Tripneustes gratilla Linn) Egg Division and Cell Line Evaluation
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Syzygium oblanceolatum C.B. Rob Merr (local name jampu salo) from the Myrtaceae family is a medicinal plant containing secondary metabolites with potential anticancer properties. This study aimed to evaluate the antimitotic activity of jampu salo stem bark extract using sea urchin ( Tripneustes gratilla Linn) egg cell division as a model and to assess its cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines. METHOD: Plant material was collected from Limapocoe Village, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, and extracted with 96% ethanol, yielding 0.305%. The crude extract was fractionated into n -hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and ethanol fractions. Phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, and terpenoids, while steroids and saponins were absent. RESULTS & DISCUSSION: Antimitotic testing demonstrated significant inhibition of sea urchin egg cell division, with a clear dose -dependent effect. The IC₅₀ values obtained were 0.216 µg/mL for ethanol extract, 0.268 µg/mL for ethyl acetate fraction, 0.318 µg/mL for methanol fraction, and 0.515 µg/mL for ethanol fraction, indicating very strong activity in the sub-µg/mL category. These results highlight the potency of jampu salo extract as an inhibitor of mitotic processes, supporting its potential as a sour ce of bioactive compounds with anticancer relevance. Further cytotoxicity evaluation showed that in T47D cells, the ethanol extract exhibited limited effects at 500 µg/mL but reduced viability to 52.9% at 62.5 µg/mL. Stronger activity was observed in 4T1 cells, with cell viability decreasing to 67% at 500 µg/mL and 27% at 100 µg/mL, suggesting higher sensitivity. In comparison, doxorubicin as the positive control consistently demonstrated stronger cytotoxicity with lower IC₅₀ values. CONCLUSION: Overall, these findings indicate that jampu salo possesses potent antimitotic activity and shows promise as a natural candidate for anticancer drug development.
