CYTOTOXIC EFFECTS AND RESPONSE SURFACE OPTIMIZATION OF SOLVENT EXTRACTION OF CRUDE EXTRACTS FROM Aquilaria subintegra UNINFECTED BRANCH

Agarwood plant has been used in traditional medicine to treat wide range of disorders aside from the main function of its fragrant wood in perfumery. In this present study, we are interested to maximize the yield of extract and investigate the cytotoxic/anti-cancer effects of uninfected branch extracts. Uninfected branch is readily available from agarwood plantation particularly during the early years before inoculation process that formed the fragrant wood (resin); and as such is seen as an economical raw material. Uninfected branch from Aquilaria subintegra was subjected to response surface methodology (RSM) – guided ethanolic extraction to achieve maximum yield while maintaining the biological activity. Cytotoxicity/anti-cancer assays including cell attachment assay, cell viability assay and sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay were carried out on the extracts. Run 11 with 12 hours extraction time, 50 °C temperature, 100 rpm and 60 ml extraction volume gave the highest yield of 0.2130 ± 0.036 g/g agarwood branch extract (ABE). Experimental extract from run 16 showed the most promising cytotoxic effects against MCF-7 with IC50 of 8 µg/ml. The study showed that ABE possess potential cytotoxic/anti-cancer activities against MCF-7 cells and further research is warranted to identify the bioactive compounds and mechanism of action.