Cervical cancer remains one of the most concerning diseases for the Indonesian population.
In 2020, there were 36,633 cases of cervical cancer reported in the country, making it the second most common cancer after breast cancer and the third deadliest cancer overall.
Currently, cancer treatment is limited to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. However, chemotherapy drugs commonly used for cancer treatment often come with side effects that reduce patients’ quality of life.
This underscores the need for alternative cervical cancer treatments with fewer side effects.
In response to this, five students from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), members of the Cisaheal team, consisting of Aditya Latiful Azis (Biology 2022), Asy Syifa Paras Ceria (Biology 2022), Shabrina Farras Tsany (Medicine 2021), Rahmalia Diani Saffana (Medicine 2021), and Faqih Fikri Nuryanto (Pharmacy 2023), conducted a study under the supervision of lecturer Dr. Woro Anindito Sri Tunjung.
Their research aimed to explore the potential of herbal medicines for cervical cancer treatment. The study focused on the combination of extracts from pondoh snake fruit seeds (Salacca zalacca (Gaertn.) Voss) and pomelo peel (Citrus maxima (Burm.) Merr.).
This research was funded by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek RI) through the Student Creativity Program in Exact Sciences Research (PKM-RE).
Azis explained that pondoh snake fruit seeds and pomelo peels were well-grounded when selecting anti-cervical cancer agents. Snake fruit seeds contain polyphenols, alkaloids, and terpenoids with antioxidant properties.
Meanwhile, pomelo peel contains flavonoids and lycopene, known for their cytotoxic effects on cancer cells.
“Herbal remedies as alternative therapies are believed to have fewer side effects than modern drugs,” said Azis in a statement to the press on Thursday (Sep. 12).
He added that the combination of pondoh snake fruit seeds and pomelo peel has the potential to serve as an alternative cervical cancer treatment with minimal side effects.
Both parts of the fruit contain secondary metabolites that show promise in cervical cancer treatment. Additionally, the production and consumption of snake fruit and pomelo are on the rise annually in Indonesia.
“The waste from these fruits has the potential to increase the amount of organic waste. We hope that this research can help expand alternative cervical cancer treatments using eco-friendly and low-side-effect materials,” stated Azis, the team leader.
To prove the efficacy of the combination of pondoh snake fruit seeds and pomelo peel extract, Adit and his team conducted several tests, including phytochemical screening and in silico testing.
They also conduct anti-inflammatory activity testing, cytotoxicity testing, antiproliferation testing using the MTT assay, HeLa cell migration inhibition testing, and apoptosis testing.
The study was conducted over four months. Their research results demonstrated that the combination of pondoh snake fruit seeds and pomelo peel extract exhibited anti-inflammatory properties, inhibited HeLa cell migration, and induced apoptosis in cervical cancer cells.
“The combination of pondoh snake fruit seeds and pomelo peel extract can serve as an alternative therapy for cervical cancer by harnessing nature’s potential,” said Tsany, a team member.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya