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Pandanus tectorius fruit, a natural product rich in tangeretin and ethyl caffeate, has been reported to have potential as anti-hypercholesterolemia agent via Scavenger Receptor Class B type 1 (SR-B1) pathway. However, due to its semi-polar properties, P. tectorius extract exhibits poor solubility when used as a medical remedy. The extract’s solubility can potentially be improved through a synthesis of nanoparticles of chitosan- P. tectorius fruit extract. This can also increase the extract’s SR-B1 gene expression activity. To date, no studies of nanoparticles of chitosan- P. tectorius fruit extract and its pathway via SR-B1 have been published anywhere. In this study, cytotoxicity properties against HepG2 were explored by MTT. Then luciferase assay was used to detect their effectiveness in increasing SR-B1 activity. An in vivo study using Sprague dawley was carried out to observe the extract nanoparticles’ effectiveness in reducing the cholesterol levels and the toxicity property in rat’s liver. As the results showed, the extract nanoparticles had no cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cells and exhibited higher SR-B1 gene expression activity than the non-nanoparticle form. As the in vivo study proved, nanoparticle treatment can reduce the levels of TC (197%), LDL (360%), and TG (109%), as well as increase the level of HDL cholesterol by 150%, in comparison to those for the untreated high-cholesterol diet group. From the toxicity study, it was found that there was non-toxicity in the liver. It can be concluded that nanoparticles of chitosan- P. tectorius fruit extract successfully increased P. tectorius fruit extract’s effectiveness in reducing hypercholesterolemia via SR-B1 pathway. Hence, it can be suggested that nanoparticles of chitosan- P. tectorius fruit extract is safe and suitable as an alternative treatment for controlling hypercholesterolemia via SR-B1 pathway.

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Reports have shown an upward trend for liver cancer in recent years. It is also one of the deadliest cancers globally due to its complexity in detection and treatment. Hence, there is an urgency to develop the anti-liver cancer agent from natural resources which is highly effective with minimum side effects. This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity property of extracts with different polarity solvents (hexane and methanol) obtained from coastal plants collected from Merang, Terengganu. Three species (Melaleuca leucadendra, Terminalia catappa, and Rhodomyrtus tomentosa) were chosen due to their abundance and lacking anticancer studies performed on them. Green leaves were collected directly from the trees and extracted using hexane and methanol successively. Preliminary phytochemical tests (phenolic, flavonoid, terpenoid, saponin, alkaloid and glycoside) were performed on the extracts, followed by an antioxidant test based on 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. Methanol extracts with high antioxidant property were continued for cytotoxicity study on HepG2 cell lines by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results showed that all methanol extracts from all plants showed high antioxidant property (IC50: 0.83-1.62 mg/ml) and moderately cytotoxic activity (IC50: 24.7-28 µg/ml) against HepG2 cell lines. In contrast, hexane extracts showed very weak antioxidant activities. The highest activity was obtained by methanol extract of M. leucadendra (MLM), followed by T. catappa (TCM) and R. tomentosa (RTM), respectively. These promising results indicated that MLM could be a potential candidate for further study related to the antioxidant and cytotoxicity on HepG2 cell lines, such as for anti-liver cancer agent.

Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of rapidly dividing cells.  Decreased efficacy of current anticancer drugs urges to further screening and investigation for a better alternative to current chemotherapeutics. Natural products of marine origin are great sources of potential new drugs of enhanced biological activities. Thus, the work aims to investigate the cytotoxic effects along with the mode of cell death exerted by SC-8, SC-9, HN-3, HN-4 and HN-5 fractions prepared from Stichopus chloronotus and Holothuria nobilis marine-sponge on the human cervical cell line, HeLa. The fractions produced effective cytotoxicity with IC50 values at 72hr of less than 30 μg/ml in the order of HN-3 > HN-4 > SC-9 > SC-8 > HN-5. These fraction induced cytotoxicity via mediating apoptosis in HeLa cells. The early apoptosis was done by fractions via exposure of protein phosphatidylserine (PS) to the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane and late apoptosis confirmed due to the presence of fragmented DNA in treated cells. The presence of potentially bioactive compounds in these fractions might be responsible for inducing apoptosis and, thus, own potential to be a successful candidate for exploring forthcoming chemotherapeutic drugs