Phytochemical composition and anticancer activity of seaweeds Ulva lactuca and Eucheuma cottonii against breast MCF-7 and colon HCT-116 cells

Abstract

Objective: This study is aimed to develop marine resources, which is focused on the determination of phytochemical composition and exploration of seaweeds Ulva lactuca and Eucheuma cottonii, as a potential antibreast cancer and anticolorectal cancer agents. Methods: Seaweeds U. lactuca collected from Parangtritis beach, Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, whereas E. cottonii collected from Salemo Island, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Seaweeds U. lactuca and E. cottonii were macerated in organic solvents, n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and ethanol, respectively. After maceration for 3 days, the mixture was filtered; the filtrate was concentrated by rotary evaporator. The concentrated extract of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol, and chloroform was then analyzed by thin layer chromatography. Phytochemical test of the concentrated extract was conducted to identify the metabolites containing in the seaweeds. Furthermore, the cytotoxic activity of the n-hexane, ethyl acetate, ethanol, and chloroform extract of U. lactuca and E. cotonii were evaluated as a growth inhibitor of breast MCF-7 and colorectal HCT-116 cancer cells by MTT cell proliferation assay. Results: Phytochemical test for the concentrated extracts of U. Lactuca showed the positive result for metabolites of steroids, glycosides, flavonoids, and tannins, whereas the concentrated extracts of E. cottonii showed the positive result for metabolites of steroids, glycosides, and flavonoid. Both concentrated extracts of U. lactuca and E. cotonii exhibited anticancer activity against breast MCF-7 and colorectal HCT-116 cells with IC50 ranging from 21 µg/mL to 99 µg/mL. Conclusion: Our results clearly demonstrate seaweeds U. Lactuca and E. cotonii as promising candidates for the new antibreast and anticolorectal cancer agents.