UNAIR NEWS – Dra. Tjitjik Srie Tjahjandarie, Ph.D. with her colleagues conducted a research in finding new compound content in plants. This time, Tjijik studied compounds in Bintangor (Calophyllum dioscurii) plants.
Tjijik said that bintangor plants are found in the Riau Islands, Kalimantan, Batam, Bangka Belitung and Papua. Bintangor that grows on sandy soil has different compound characteristics from bintangor that grows in the highlands.
“Bintangor obtained from the Riau region is a type of Calophyllum dioscurii. Some regions recognize bintangor plants by the name mentangor, aci, or betur, ” she said.
According to her, the bintangor plant is widely used by the public as a cure for cancer and HIV. Bintangor stem bark is widely used by people as one of the ingredients of Chinese medicinal herbs. She continued, bintangor contains phenolic compounds benzofuran, xanthones, phenylcumarin which is an active compound.
“Together with the Natural Chemical Chemistry Research Team, I conducted scientific research on bintangor (Calophyllum dioscurii) from the Riau Islands. This research has succeeded in finding two new compounds that have never been found before from Indonesian plants, ” she said.
The compounds found in this study, she continued, are isoprenylated xanthones and named Calodioscurin A and B. The uniqueness of this compound is the presence of very specific prenyl group substituents. So far, xanthone compounds in general only have simple groups such as hydroxyl and methoxy groups. Calodioscurin A and B have been tested against murine leukemia P 388 cells, and showed moderate activity.
“By knowing the activity of Calodioscurin A and B compounds against leukemia cancer cells, it will be an opportunity for us to develop other anti-cancer activity tests. The discovery of this new compound adds to the diversity of Indonesian plant chemical compounds, ” she explained.
The plant parts examined in this study are bark. Parts that are often used by the public as traditional medicinal herbs. The bark is obtained from the conservation forest river area in Batam, Riau Islands. Plant identification was carried out by Ismail Rachman, a botanist from Herbarium Bogoriensis, Biology Research Center, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Bogor.
Author: Khefti Al Mawalia
Editor: Nuri Hermawan
Reference:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14786419.2019.1643864
Tjitjik Srie Tjahjandarie, Mulyadi Tanjung, Dhaniar Farah Rahmania, Churin In Rhidoma dan Ratih Dewi Saputri. Calodioscurins A and B, Two New Isoprenylated Xanthones from The Stem Bark of Calophyllum dioscurii P.F. Stevens , Natural Product Research.
