Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have various biological effects and they are non-linear in characteristic. In high oxidative stress, they may cause cytotoxicity, inhibit cell proliferation, and induce cell death in the form of apoptosis/necrosis; while in low or medium oxidative stress, ROS may cause DNA damage, cell mutation, inflammation, cell proliferation, and eventually they may induce carcinogenesis. Antioxidants are compounds with the ability to reduce ROS. Cell line MCF-7 is one of the breast cancer cell lines that is known to have small amount of antioxidant MnSOD compared to the other cell lines. Low antioxidant MnSOD level in breast cancer cell line MCF-7 leads to low concentration of hydrogen peroxide, because antioxidant MnSOD will convert radical superoxide to hydrogen peroxide. The aim of this research was to analyze oxidants and antioxidants profile in breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and their relationship with cell number. Observations were conducted for 5 days. The cell number was counted with tryphan blue method and haematometer. The concentration of radical superoxide was measured with DHE staining using LSCM tipe Olympus Fluoview FV 1000-Ver 1.7. MnSOD activity, hydrogen peroxide concentration, and catalase activity were measured with ELISA. The results showed that the longer of observation, the greater concentration of oxidants and MnSOD activity, but there was no change in catalase activity. Conclusion the increase in cancer cells number is influenced by radical superoxide.

Begonia medicinalis or known as benalu batu in Indonesia is a herbal plant that is locally used for traditional medicines. The secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, alkaloids, steroids, and terpenoids have been reported to be found in these plant extracts. The content of flavonoids can lead to anti-cancer abilities while heat-sensitive flavonoid compounds can be extracted by the Ultrasound-assisted Extraction (UAE) method. In this study, the anticancer potential of B. medicinalis extracts from the leaves (leaves extract/LE) and stem (stem extract/SE) in three cell lines (Hela, MDA-MB, HT-29) have been performed. Extraction of the leaves and stems was carried out using water as a solvent and the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method followed by measuring the total flavonoid content (TFC) of each extract. The anticancer potential was obtained from cytotoxic measurements by the MTT method on 3 types of cancer cells incubated with the extract for 24 hours. The value of total flavonoid content (TFC) in the LE was higher than that of SE extracts. Both extracts have the potential as a remedy for the treatment of cancer. Keywords: Begonia medicinalis, Ultrasound-assisted Extraction (UAE), anticancer

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally which usually begins with endothelial dysfunction. This vascular abnormality is potentially caused by one kind of heavy metal called cadmium (Cd). Vitamin C, as an antioxidant, can serve as the free radical scavenger. This research aimed to determine the effect of vitamin C on the viability of endothelial cells and endothelial dysfunction through nitric oxide (NO) levels and malondialdehyde (MDA) in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) induced with CdCl 2. HUVEC was induced by 24.154 µg/L CdCl 2. Three treatment groups of CdCl 2-induced HUVEC were employed, each given vitamin C concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 µM, respectively. Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay. Levels of NO and MDA were determined by with the calorimetric test. Cell viability was increased significantly in treatment group receiving vitamin C 100 and 200 µM. However, there were no significant differences on NO and MDA levels in vitamin C treatment groups compared to control. In conclusion, vitamin C increases endothelial cell viability and NO level, and reduces MDA levels in CdCl 2-induced HUVEC. This study implies the importance of vitamin C supplementation to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Ambon banana-tree (Musa paradisiaca var.sapientum) sap (ABT sap) contains active substances that can stimulate the wound healing process such as: flavonoid, saponin, ascorbic acid. Those substances are needed in an important phase of wound healing called angiogenesis through activation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) pathway that stimulates actin reorganization in endothelial cell migration and proliferation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of banana-tree sap in stimulating cells migration, VEGF and nitric oxide (NO) level in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) culture that induced by pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1 (Interleukin-1). The ABT sap was obtained by pressing a fresh Ambon banana stem, then was mixed with culture medium into 0.125%, 0.25% and 0.5% concentration. The ABT sap then was used for treating HUVECs cell that induced by IL-1 200 ng/mL for 48-hours. The result of this study shows that Ambon banana-tree sap increased HUVECs cell migration. However, after 48-hours treatment with ABT sap showed no difference in the VEGF and NO level in the culture media. These results suggested ABT sap able to increase migration to HUVECs that promising for wound healing agent. Therefore, the further research to elucidate the detailed mechanism and identify the active compound warrant to be done.