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Propolis produced by stingless bees contains various chemical compounds that contribute to its bioactivity. The availability of certain plants at the growth site and the propolis's geographic origin have a significant impact on its chemical composition. The objective of this study was to examine the chemical profile, yield, total flavonoid and phenolic content, and in vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of propolis extract from 10 distinct locations in Indonesia. The yield of propolis extract investigated in this study lies in the range of 26.25 ± 1.76 to 43.25 ± 3.60 %. The total phenolic content of the propolis extract varies from 50.03 ± 3.40–98.03 ± 13.94 mg GAE/g whereas the total flavonoid content of the propolis extract varies from and 0.70 ± 0.08–57.76 ± 0.67 mg QE/g. The antioxidant activity of the propolis extract in terms of IC50 values lies in the range of 332.07 ± 6.12 to 831.48 ± 29.48 ppm whereas the anti-inflammatory activity of the propolis extract in terms of IC50 values lies in the range of 28.69 ± 4.95 to 44.12 ± 19.22 ppm. Both the total flavonoid and phenolic content of the propolis extract from various locations were correlated with the antioxidant activities and anti-inflammatory activities. The results indicate that there was a significant negative correlation between the total flavonoid and phenolic content of the propolis extract with the antioxidant activity. However, the anti-inflammatory activity was not strongly correlated with the total flavonoid and phenolic content of the propolis extract. There were 36 volatile compounds in the propolis extract as identified by the Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry with triterpenoid as the major substances (28.66–44.86 %). The presence of anti-inflammatory compounds particularly α, β-Amyrin (2.2–6.52 %) and lupeol (2–4.72 %) in the propolis extract highlights the potential of propolis in health and medicine application.

Evaluating Ageratum conyzoides L. (bandotan) weed potential, as a natural antibacterial agent that can be used in the biomedical fields, is the objective of this study. Bandotan leaves extract (BLE) loaded PVP/CA nanofibers were fabricated using an electrospinning technique. The resulting PVP/CA/BLE nanofibers exhibit a pure fibers morphology, with average fibers diameter range of 145–346 nm. Fourier transform infrared analysis demonstrates similarities in the spectra of PVP/CA/BLE nanofibers and pure BLE, confirming the effective loading of BLE into the nanofiber matrix. The nanofibers composed of PVP/CA/BLE exhibit significant antibacterial efficacy against both Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, ranging from 5 to 71 ( × 10−2 %mg−1), and a high swelling degree of 786%. PVP/CA/BLE nanofibers also exhibit two extract release profiles, burst and sustained release, with a cumulative release of 18–39%. These characteristics make PVP/CA/BLE nanofibers suitable for use as wound dressings, as they can inhibit bacterial growth, absorb wound exudate, and load drug molecules.

Stevia rebaudiana is very famous as natural sweeteners and potentially for lowering blood sugar. The benefits of Stevia rebaudiana are numerous, and various pharmacological activities have been found, such as efforts to treat diseases such as diabetes, obesity, dental caries, hypoglycemia, and hypertension. The main sweet compounds in Stevia rebaudiana are rebaudioside A and stevioside, especially in the leaves. This review examines aspects of phytochemistry, pharmacological activity, micropropagation, and in-vitro culture modification of Stevia rebaudiana plants. Online and offline literature searches were conducted to compile the articles. PubMed (Medline), Web of Science, is used to retrieve online publications using the following search terms: Stevia rebaudiana, stevia herbs, traditional medicine, pharmacological activities, toxicity, secondary metabolite content, phytochemicals, and plant tissue culture of Stevia rebaudiana . This review is also a compilation of four previous reviews and is accompanied by the latest data from research journals on Stevia rebaudiana.

The paper initially focuses on the characteristics of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) hydrogel as smart delivery media, such as chemical stability, biocompatibility, and capacity for controlled release of bioactive compounds. Then, it discusses the effect of loading bioactive compounds into PVA hydrogel, considering their stability of delivery media, controlled release, and targeted delivery, enhancing therapeutic outcomes. Loading bioactive compounds such as diphlorethohydroxycarmalol (DPHC), curcumin, carotenoids, andrographolide, and flavonoids into PVA hydrogels can enhance biomedical functionalities. These functionalities include improved drug delivery, wound dressing efficacy, tissue engineering potential, and contact lens applications. Further, while previous review papers have extensively covered aspects such as the source of bioactive compounds, extraction methods, synthesis of PVA hydrogel, and various biomedical applications, there remains a gap in the literature in which no studies have systematically explored the loading of bioactive compounds into PVA hydrogel. This targeted investigation distinguishes our work from previous studies and contributes a novel perspective to the expanding hydrogel market. In light of the projected compound annual growth rate of 7.15% in the hydrogel market from 2021 to 2028, this study provides a pioneering overview of recent advancements in bioactive compound-loaded PVA hydrogels. Finally, this review outlines the challenges in optimizing bioactive compound-loaded PVA hydrogels’ performance and their biomedical application. In the future direction, this review explores their potential in smart delivery media, such as optimizing the loading efficiency and releasing kinetics to specific target therapeutic, crosslinking with double or triple network hydrogels, and convergence of nanotechnology with hydrogel that become frontiers in precision medicine.

The cat's whiskers plant ( Orthosiphon aristatus (Blume) Miq) that grows in Indonesia has white flowers, purple flowers, and white flowers with purple patterns. The quality of the secondary metabolite content of each cat's whiskers plant is different because it depends on environmental influences such as rainfall or soil mineral content. Plant tissue culture methods such as callus culture or cell culture are used to overcome these obstacles because these methods do not depend on the environment and can produce secondary metabolites such as those produced by the original plant. Cat's whiskers contain the main secondary metabolite compounds: rosmarinic acid, eupatorin, and sinensetin. Rosmarinic acid belongs to the phenolic group, while sinensetin and eupatorin are flavonoids. This study aimed to determine the total levels of polyphenols and flavonoids in purple cat whiskers and determine the ratio of secondary metabolites of cat whiskers callus with wild-type plants—determination of polyphenol content using Folin Ciocalteau reagent. Determining flavonoid levels is based on colorimetry using AlCl 3 reagent, specific for flavone and flavonol compounds. The levels of polyphenols contained in the ethanolic extract of callus and cat whiskers of the purple variety were 16.056 ± 0.204 mgQE/g and 30.780 ± 0.425 mgQE/g, while the polyphenol content of the callus ethyl acetate extract and the purple variety of cat whiskers leaves was 15,489 ± 0.425 mgQE/g and 13,262 ± 0.044 mgQE/g. The levels of flavonoids contained in the ethanol extract of the cat whiskers leaf were 1.39±0.03 mgQE/g and callus 0.16±0.02 mgQE/g in the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of the cat whiskers 2.16±0.012 mgQE/g and callus 2.24±0.010 mgQE/g. The polyphenols and flavonoids in the callus ethyl acetate extract were more significant than the ethyl acetate extract of the purple variety ( wild type ) cat whiskers leaf.

Curcuma longa (turmeric) and Curcuma zanthorrhiza (temulawak) are members of the Zingiberaceae family that contain curcuminoids, essential oils, starch, protein, fat, cellulose, and minerals. The nutritional content proportion of turmeric is different from temulawak which implies differences in economic value. However, only a few people who understand herbal plants, can identify the difference between them. This study aims to build a model that can distinguish between the two species of Zingiberaceae based on the image captured from a mobile phone camera. A collection of images consisting of both types of rhizomes are used to build a model through a learning process using transfer learning, specifically pre-trained VGG-19 and Inception V3 with ImageNet weight. Experimental results show that the accuracy rates of the models to classify the rhizomes are 92.43% and 94.29%, consecutively. These achievements are quite promising to be used in various practical use.

Kumis kucing mengandung metabolit sekunder sinensetin yang termasuk ke dalam golongan senyawa flavonoid. Sinensetin berpotensi sebagai agen antivirus dan imunomodulator. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah standardisasi tanaman kumis kucing varietas putih dan upaya produksi senyawa sinensetin. Ekstraksi dilakukan dengan metoda maserasi. Tahap pemisahan lanjutan dilakukan dengan metoda ekstraksi cair-cair, kromatografi kolom dan kromatografi cair vakum. Hasil ekstraksi cair-cair terpilih tiga fraksi yaitu fraksi air, etil asetat dan n-heksana. Sebanyak 2,08 gram fraksi etil asetat dilanjutkkan pada tahap pemisahan lanjutan menggunakan kromatografi cair vakum dengan fasa diam silika gel H60 dan fasa gerak n-heksana dan etil asetat. Hasil dari kromatografi cair vakum diperoleh sebanyak 11 subfraksi. Penggabungan dilakukan pada subfraksi 8-11 yang terdeteksi adanya senyawa sinensetin, selanjutnya terhadap subfraksi gabungan dilakukan pemisaahan lanjutan dengan kromatografi kolom. Hasil pemisahan dengan kromatografi kolom diperoleh subfraksi sebanyak 142 vial. Pada subfraksi hasil kromatografi kolom nomor 91-114 terdeteksi adanya isolat sinensetin. Kromatografi lapis tipis preparatif (KLTP) gabungan subfraksi kromatografi kolom 91-114 (SFK) menunjukkan adanya senyawa sinensetin. Berdasarkan hasil pemeriksaan kemurnian dengan menggunakan KLT 2 dimensi dan analisis profil spektrum UV isolat diduga senyawa sinensetin.

Abstract: Javanese chili (Piper retrofractum Vahl) is a traditional medicinal plant originating from Indonesia and has many pharmacological activities, one of which is often used as a base for aphrodisiac herbal medicine. The population of P. retrofractum is limited, so it is necessary to design secondary metabolite production and propagation efforts using plant tissue culture techniques. The materials used in this study were explants of P. retrofractum leaves that were induced in Murashige and Skoog (MS) media and the ratio of growth regulators 2.4-dichlorophenoxyacetis acid (2,4-D): Benzyl Amino Purine (BAP) 0.5: 0.5. The results showed that the callus of P. retrofractum was formed in the growth regulator 2.4D: BAP (0.5: 0.5). TLC and spectrophotometry identified the secondary metabolite content of callus. Secondary metabolite analysis using the thin layer chromatography (TLC) method using the mobile phase ethyl acetate: n-hexane (7: 3) showed a terpenoid compound indicated by purple spots on the visual appearance after spraying 10% spotting vanillin. Identification using infrared spectrophotometry shows functional groups -CH, C = O, C = C, -CH2, and -CH3, characteristic of terpenoid compounds. Based on TLC data and spectrophotometry, callus P. retrofractum is thought to contain terpenoid compounds. This study's results are expected to be the basis for developing secondary metabolite production in P. retrofractum with cell suspension culture and P. retrofractum propagation by micropropagation. Abstrak: Cabai Jawa (Piper retrofractum Vahl) merupakan tanaman obat tradisional yang berasal dari Indonesia dan banyak memiliki aktivitas farmakologis salah satunya sering digunakan sebagai bahan dasar jamu afrodisiaka. Populasi tanaman cabai Jawa terbatas maka perlu dirancang upaya produksi metabolit sekunder dan upaya perbanyakan tanaman cabai Jawa salah satunya menggunakan teknik kultur jaringan tanaman. Bahan yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah eksplan daun tanaman cabai Jawa yang diinduksi pada media Murashige and Skoog (MS) dan perbandingan zat pengatur tumbuh 2.4-dichlorophenoxyacetis acid (2,4-D) : Benzyl Amino Purine (BAP) 0,5 : 0,5. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kalus cabai Jawa terbentuk dalam zat pengatur tumbuh 2,4D: BAP (0,5: 0,5). Kandungan metabolit sekunder dari kalus diidentifikasi dengan KLT dan spektrofotometri. Analisis metabolit sekunder menggunakan metode kromatografi lapis tipis (KLT) menggunakan fasa gerak etil asetat: n-heksana (7: 3) menunjukkan adanya senyawa terpenoid yang ditunjukkan dengan adanya bercak ungu pada penampakan visual setelah disemprotkan spotting vanilin 10%. Hasil Identifikasi menggunakan spektrofotometri UV-Vis menunjukkan isolat mempunyai panjang gelombang maksimum 272,6 nm. Identifikasi menggunakan spektrofotometri inframerah menunjukkan adanya gugus fungsi -CH, C = O, C = C, -CH2, dan -CH3 yang merupakan ciri khas senyawa terpenoid . Berdasarkan data KLT dan spektrofotometri kalus cabai Jawa diduga mengandung senyawa terpenoid. Hasil penelitian ini diharapkan dapat menjadi dasar pemgembangan produksi metabolit sekunder dalam tanaman cabai Jawa dengan kultur suspensi sel dan perbanyakan tanaman cabai Jawa dengan mikropropagasi.

Purpose: Artemisinin, a secondary metabolite in Artemisia annua is one of primary choice for the treatment of malaria, it is naturally produced in low concentration from this plant. This study was aimed to clone key enzymes of artemisinin production in order to enhance its production through the semi-synthetically production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Methods: Two key enzymes in artemisinin biosynthetic pathway which are farnesyl phosphate synthase (fps) and amorpha-4,11-diene synthase (ads) genes were transformed into S. cerevisiae using pBEVY vector. Successful transformation was checked by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and sequencing analysis Results: Recombinant plasmids which are pBEVY-GU_ads and pBEVY_GL_fps were successfully constructed. The optimized ads gene was amplified using PCR with a couple of primers that are designed in order to provide the homolog recombination between ads gene with the expression plasmid of pBEVY-GU respectively. While the A. annua optimized fps gene was cloned using classical method. Transformants were grown in selective media Synthetic Defined (SD) without leucine for transformants contain plasmid pBEVY-GL_fps and media without uracil for transformants contain plasmid pBEVY-GU_ads. Confirmation of colonies was done by PCR with primers to amplify fps and ads. DNA from yeast was isolated from positive colonies then transformed to E. coli. Plasmid from E. coli was isolated for restriction analysis and sequencing. Protein expression was induced by cultivating the yeast in the media with 2% galactose. Conclusion: Based on PCR, restriction and sequencing analysis, it could be concluded that fps and ads genes were successfully constructed, transformed and expressed in S. cerevisiae.

Purpose: The low content of artemisinin related to the biosynthetic pathway is influenced by the role of certain enzymes in the formation of artemisinin. The regulation of genes involved in artemisinin biosynthesis through genetic engineering is a choice to enhance the content. This research aims to transform ads and p19 gene as an antisilencing into Artemisia annua and to see their effects on artemisinin production. Methods: The presence of p19 and ads genes was confirmed through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products and sequencing analysis. The plasmids, which contain ads and/or p19 genes, were transformed into Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and then inserted into leaves and hairy roots of A. annua by vacuum and syringe infiltration methods. The successful transformation was checked through the GUS histochemical test and the PCR analysis. Artemisinin levels were measured using HPLC. Results: The percentages of the blue area on leaves by using vacuum and syringe infiltration method and on hairy roots were up to 98, 92.55%, and 99.00% respectively. The ads-p19 sample contained a higher level of artemisinin (0.18%) compared to other samples. Transformed hairy root with co-transformation of ads-p19 contained 0.095% artemisinin, where no artemisinin was found in the control hairy root. The transformation of ads and p19 genes into A. annua plant has been successfully done and could enhance the artemisinin content on the transformed leaves with ads-p19 up to 2.57 folds compared to the untransformed leaves, while for p19, cotransformed and ads were up to 2.25, 1.29, and 1.14 folds respectively. Conclusion: Antisilencing p19 gene could enhance the transformation efficiency of ads and artemisinin level in A. annua.

Fern is one of the groups of primitive plants rich in secondary metabolites that are commonly used to treat various diseases, including antioxidant, anti-hyaluronidase, anti-inflammation, and respiratory disease but less investigated. Flavonoid is one of the secondary metabolites abundantly present in ferns. This study aims to isolate major compounds found in Blechnum orientale act as 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX) inhibitors. Inhibition of lipoxygenase decrease the production of leukotriene that induces bronchoconstriction in asthma. Isoquercitrin (Quercetin-3-O-β-glucopyranoside) and trifolin (kaempferol-3-O-β-D-galactoside) have been successfully isolated from Blechnum orientale. Further in silico study was performed to explain the binding mode between flavonoid pyranoside or galactoside and flavonoid aglycone in the 15-LOX cavity and their amino acid residues interaction. Isoquercitrin binds with Ile663, Ile400, Leu408, Leu597, Ala404, and Arg403 in the 15-LOX cavity as a lipoxygenase inhibitor. Trifolin binds the same amino acids as isoquercetin with addition His366, Gln596, and Phe175. Both isoquercitrin and trifolin act as competitive inhibitors against lipoxygenase enzymes.

Rambutan plant (Nephelium lappaceum L.) is a member of the Sapindaceae family. The rambutan plant is one of the natural ingredients that can be developed as traditional medicine. Rambutan peel has the potential for good antioxidant and anticancer activity. Rambutan fruit does not grow every time it needs efforts to produce the active substance in rambutan, using plant tissue culture techniques. The use of the correct variety of mediums and hormones at the right concentration is the key to thriving tissue culture. Explants derived from rambutan leaves were planted precisely on solid media Murashige and Skoog (MS) and WoddyPlant Medium (WPM) containing Indole-3-Butyric Acid (IBA) and Kinetin. After seven days, the callus was subcultured, then after 35 days, the subculture callus was collected and dried. Dry callus and rambutan leaves (Wild type) were macerated with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and ethanol. The concentrated extract was then applied to a GF 254 silica gel plate with the mobile phase Toluene-Acetone (7: 3) and n-hexane-EthylAsetate (3: 7). The results showed that the concentration of IBA 2 ppm and kinetin three ppm was the best combination because it produced callus. TLC results of rambutan leave with plant tissue culture containing flavonoids and triterpenoids. This study provides new information regarding the induction of rambutan callus and can become the basis for producing active metabolites in rambutan with cell suspension culture development.

Global demand of antimalarial drug artemisinin has a gap with production capacity from existing sources since the low content of this compound from Artemia annua L. Genetic engineering-based strategy for A. annua plant on key enzymes in artemisinin biosynthetic pathway is needed. Artemisinic aldehyde ∆ 11 (13) double bond reductase (dbr2) is one of the key enzyme on artemisinin biosynthesis which was studied in this research. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of A. annua using dbr2 was carried out. Synthetic dbr2 was ligated into pCAMBIA1303 and transformed into Escherichia coli DH5α. pCAMBIA1303-dbr2 plasmid was transformed to A. tumefaciens AGL1. Leaves of A. annua were infected by positive transformant of recombinant A. tumefaciens (OD600 ≈ 1) supplemented with acetosyringone 50 ppm, and Silwet S-408 0.02%. Samples were incubated in desiccators connected with vacuum pump, this method is called infiltration vacuum. Leaves were covered in dark for 45 min, and co-cultivated on MS co-cultivation media for 3 days. All leaves were washed in 300 ppm cefotaxime and divided into 2 parts; 3 leaves for GUS histochemical assay and 300 mg of leaves for HPLC analysis. Transient transformation was done in triplicate. In GUS histochemical assay, pCAMBIA1303 and pCAMBIA-dbr2 showed positive blue spot where coefficient of variance was less than 5%. PCR analysis for genomic DNA of transformed A. annua showed a positive result of inserted dbr2 recombinant indicated by migration profile and direct sequencing analysis. It could be concluded that pCAMBIA-dbr2 construct and transformation into A. annua have been successfully performed.