Bioassay targeted, 80% aqueous ethanol crude extract of the fruits of Dillenia indica Linn, using the unmodified household coffee maker, afforded five compounds, namely betulinic acid (1), rhamnazin (2), dillenetin (3), luteolin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (4) and hypolaetin-8-O-β-D-glucoside (5). The crude extract, fractions and purified compounds were tested against MDA MB-231, A549 and HeLa cancer cell lines by MTT assay, using betulinic acid 1, as a positive control. Compound 3 showed the best activity against A549 (IC50 = 26.60 ± 2.5 µM) and HeLa cancer cell lines (IC50 =19.35 ± 0.9 µM), whereas compound 5 was found to show the best activity against MDA MB-231 (IC50 = 34.62 ± 5.2µM) cancer cell line. These highly potent anticancer compounds obtained from the fruits of D. indica may be suitable for herbal drug development and formulations.
Keywords: Dillenia indica; anticancer agents; betulinic acid; household coffee maker.