“Indian camphorweed is easy to find in Indonesia and commonly grows in homes. The plant has the potential to be developed as a herbal medicine source,” Ni Putu Ermi Hikmawanti said in a written statement received on Monday.
Noting the camphorweed’s use in traditional medicine, she said that it has a high phenolic content.
Hikmawanti informed that as part of her research, she dissolved Indian camphorweed leaves using a natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES), which is a safer and more sustainable natural-based solvent.
“Through a series of lab tests, we found that the combination of glycine and lactic acid with a 1:3 molar ratio and addition of water by 50 percent is the most optimum NADES formulation,” she said.
She then extracted one of the main ingredients, the 3.5-dicaffeoylquinic (3.5-DCQA), which she studied further and found that the NADES and 3.5-DCQA-rich fractions exhibited in vitro antioxidant and anti-retroviral activities.
The in silico study also showed that the 3.5-DCQA has the potential to halt the growth of the HIV-1 gp120 protein, which is known to play a crucial role in the early stages of an HIV infection.
Hikmawanti shared her research findings in her dissertation, Usage of NADES as Solvent of Indian Camphorweed (Pluchea indica L.) Extraction and Isolation of Dicaffeoylquinic Acid, as well as its Antioxidant and Antiretroviral Activities.
Her findings could potentially open up opportunities for the development of 3.5-DCQA as an active ingredient candidate in anti-retroviral herbal medicines based on Indonesian natural resources.
Her research is also an important reference on the use of NADES and highlights the potential for the use of Indonesian natural resources in global phytopharmacy.
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Translator: Sean Filo Muhamad, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Primayanti
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