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Sains Malaysiana
55(2)(2026): 271-282
http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2026-5502-07 Biological Evaluation and Molecular Docking Study of Four
Prenylated Flavonoids from Artocarpus elasticus Wood against Acetylcholinesterase
(Penilaian Biologi dan Kajian Dok Molekul Empat Flavonoid Terprenilasi daripada Kayu Artocarpus elasticus terhadap Asetilkolinesterase)
IQBAL MUSTHAPA1,*, MOCHAMAD FAJAR ISLAM ASH SHIDIQY1,
VIDIA AFINA NURAINI1, HELI SITI HALIMATUL M1, ADE DANOVA2,
ELVIRA HERMAWATI2 & FERA KURNIADEWI3
1Departement of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences,
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl. Dr. Setiabudhi No. 229, Bandung 40154, West Java, Indonesia
2Organic Chemistry Divison, Department of
Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesha No.10, Bandung 40132,
West Java, Indonesia
3Chemistry Study Program, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jalan Rawamangun Muka, Jakarta 13220,
Indonesia
Received: 24 October
2025/Accepted: 10 February 2026
Abstract
Artocarpus elasticus is a plant notable for its high concentration of flavonoid compounds,
specifically prenylated flavonoids. These flavonoids are recognized for their
significant biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and
antidiabetic properties. Furthermore, flavonoids are known to function as
acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which are relevant in the context of
neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. To the best of our
knowledge, the potential of prenylated flavonoids from A. elasticus has not been previously explored.
Consequently, this study aims to investigate the potential of prenylated
flavonoids from A. elasticus against
acetylcholinesterase. The isolation process yielded four prenylated flavonoids,
such as racemic cyclomourisin (1), cycloartocarpin (2), artocarpin (3), and cudraflavone C (4). Molecular
docking results indicated binding affinity values of (R)-cyclomourisin _2.5 kcal/mol, (S)-cyclomourisin _4.8 kcal/mol, cycloartocarpin _2.8 kcal/mol, artocarpin _4.0 kcal/mol, and cudraflavone C _3.9 kcal/mol. Moreover, in
vitro results demonstrated that the inhibition of the four prenylated
flavonoids were 27.52% (racemic cyclomourisin), 0% (cycloartocarpin), 48.32% (artocarpin),
and 37.19% (cudraflavone C). Based on these findings, artocarpin shows potential as an acetylcholinesterase
inhibitor. Thus, further research of artocarpin as a
lead compound targeting acetylcholinesterase can be conducted to obtain the
optimized structure.
Keywords: Acetylcholinesterase; Artocarpus elasticus; in vitro; molecular docking;
prenylated flavonoid
Abstrak
Artocarpus elasticus merupakan tumbuhan yang terkenal dengan kepekatan sebatian flavonoid yang tinggi, khususnya flavonoid terprenilasi.
Flavonoid ini dikenali kerana aktiviti biologinya yang ketara, termasuk sifat antioksidan, anti-radang dan antidiabetes. Tambahan pula, flavonoid diketahui berfungsi sebagai perencat asetilkolinesterase yang relevan dalam konteks gangguan neurodegeneratif seperti penyakit Alzheimer. Sepanjang pengetahuan kami, potensi flavonoid terprenilasi daripada A. elasticus belum diterokai sebelum ini. Oleh itu, penyelidikan ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji potensi flavonoid terprenilasi daripada A. elasticus terhadap asetilkolinesterase. Proses pengasingan menghasilkan empat flavonoid terprenilasi seperti siklomourisin rasemik (1), sikloartokarpin (2), artokarpin (3), dan cudraflavone C (4). Keputusan dok molekul menunjukkan nilai afiniti pengikatan (R)-siklomurisin 2.5
kcal/mol, (S)-siklomurisin 4.8 kcal/mol, sikloartokarpin 2.8 kcal/mol, artokarpin 4.0 kcal/mol dan cudraflavone C 3.9 kcal/mol. Tambahan pula, keputusan in
vitro menunjukkan bahawa perencatan empat flavonoid terprenilasi adalah 27.52% (siklomurisin rasemik), 0% (sikloartokarpin), 48.32% (artokarpin),
dan 37.19% (cudraflavone C). Berdasarkan penemuan ini, artokarpin menunjukkan potensi sebagai perencat asetilkolinesterase.
Oleh itu, kajian lanjut tentang artokarpin sebagai sebatian utama yang mensasarkan asetilkolinesterase boleh dijalankan untuk mendapatkan struktur yang dioptimumkan.
Kata kunci: Artocarpus elasticus; asetilkolinesterase; dok molekul; flavonoid terprenilasi; in vitro
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*Corresponding author; email: iqbalm@upi.edu
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