Investigation on bioactive potential of selected Wild Ginger, Genus Etlingera from Tasik Kenyir, Terengganu

Abstract

The genus Zingiberaceae includes four subfamilies and six tribes: Siphonochiloideae (Siphonochileae tribe), Tamijioideae (Tamijieae tribe), Alpinioideae (Alpinieae and Riedelieae tribes), Zingiberoideae (Zingibereae and Globbeae tribes) making it among the diverse angiosperm group to date. About 200 species belongs to 19 genera are recorded in Peninsular Malaysia with most of them are endemic and posses medicinal properties. Hence, four Etlingera species (E. megalocheilos, E. metriocheilos, E. punicea, E. pauciflora) found in sites of Tasik Kenyir, Terengganu were studied through in-vitro assays. The crude extract of E. punicea exhibited the best antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, Microccocus sp., S. uberis and K. pneumoniae (inhibition zone of 15.2 mm, 25.2 mm, 18.5 mm and 22.4 mm respectively at 100 mg mL-1 of crude extract) while crude extract of E. punicea exhibited the best cytotoxicity (LC50 = 18 μg mL-1) followed by E. metriocheilos (LC50 = 29.2 μg mL-1), E. megalocheilos (LC50 = 33.4 μg mL-1) and E. pauciflora (LC50 > 100 μg mL-1) against MCF-7 cells. This findings reveals that Tasik Kenyir could potentially be "home" for many unexplored and biologically active phytochemicals that will benefit mankind in years to come.