Abstract

Zingiberaceae plants exhibit various biological activities, but scientific knowledge of the plants in anti-metastatic aspects is still very limited. The objective of this study is to examine the anti-metastatic potentials of 30 crude extracts from ten selected localZingiberaceae species on hormone-independent, highly metastatic human breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231. The Zingiberaceae rhizomes were extracted with petroleum ether, chloroform, and methanol using Soxhlet extractor system. Effects of the 30 extracts on proliferation and migration of MDA-MB-231 cells were evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and scratch wound assay, respectively. Besides cytotoxicity, it is also vital to determine the potential toxicity of the extract in order to select the most promising extracts for anti-cancer drugs development. Thus, a special parameter–Selectivity Index (SX) was utilized as the selectivity indicator of tested extracts towards tumour cells. The results revealed thatpetroleum ether extracts of Alpinia galanga, Boesenbergia rotunda, and Zingiber zerumbet; as well as chloroform extracts of Alpinia galanga, Boesenbergia rotunda, and Curcuma domestica were screened to possess the most effective anti-proliferation and anti-migration activities against MDA-MB-231 cells. Three most desirable extracts were selected based on both their anti-metastatic potentials and SX, and were subjected for qualitative analysis using thin-layer chromatography (TLC).

Key words: Zingiberaceae, anti-metastatic activity, anti-migration, anti-proliferation, MDA-MB-231, selectivity index.