Cytotoxic and Anti-Tumour Promoting Activities of Carbazole Alkaloids from Malayan Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng

Kartini Ahmad^1*, Siow-Ping Tan¹, Mohd Aspollah Sukari², Abdul Manaf Ali^2,3, Mohd Azlan Nafiah¹

¹Department of Chemistry, Faculty Science and Mathematics, University Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim, Malaysia.
²Department of Chemistry, Faculty Science, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia.
³School of Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Food Science, University Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia.

DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2014.519302                

Abstract

Murraya koenigii (L.) (Rutaceae) is an indigenous medicinally important herb of Indian origin and now is widely distributed throughout southern Asia. The stem bark, leaves and roots of Malayan Murraya koenigii were selected for phytochemical investigation. Eight carbazole alkaloids was isolated and identified using spectroscopic methods including NMR, IR, UV, MS spectra data. Crude extract and isolated compounds from the roots of this plant were screened for cytotoxic activity and antitumor promoting activity. All crude extracts of the roots including the isolated compounds, mahanimbine, mahanine and murrayafoline-A exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against CEM-SS cell line with IC₅₀ 3mg/mL. Girinimbine inhibited EBV-activation in the antitumor promoting assay.

Keywords

Carbazole, Rutaceae, Murraya koenigii, NMR, Cytotoxic

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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