High Antitumor Activity of Ethanolic Extracts of Papua's Ant Nest Plant (Myrmecodia tuberosa) on an Oral Carcinoma (KB) Cell Line

Papuas ant nest (Myrmecodia tuberosa) is a traditional plant that is known to have the strong anticancer compound. Efficacy of ant nest was shown by the content of active substances include flavonoids, polyphenols, tannins and glycosides. Ant nest plant has been used to treat various diseases traditionally and safely without any side effects. Aims of the study were to examine the high antitumor activity of ethanolic extracts of Papuas ant nest plant on an oral carcinoma cells through the growth inhibition and apoptosis induction of KB cells. In the present study, KB cells were treated with various concentration of ethanol extract of Papuas ant nest plant. MTT assay was conducted to determine the growth inhibition of KB cells. The double-staining analysis was carried out to evaluate the induction of cells apoptosis. The results revealed the growth of KB cells treated with ant nest extract was remarkable suppressed. The percentage of cell inhibition was known at 84.2 %. Therefore, apoptosis of KB cells was markedly induced characterized by an increase in death cells. Percentage of apoptosis was detected at 88 %. In addition, the fifty-inhibitory concentration (IC50) of Papuas ant nest was reported at 215 g/ml in KB cell line. These results indicated that Papuas ant nest plant exhibited a high potential antitumor activity in oral carcinoma KB cells.