Porcupine bezoars (PBs) are masses of undigested calcareous concretions formed within the gastrointestinal tract. There are undocumented claims that PBs have antioxidant activity and can treat cancers. However, limited scientific study has been carried out to verify these traditional claims. Hence, this study was conducted to characterize the chemical profile and validate the antioxidant and anticancer activity against melanoma cells (A375). PB extract was initially subjected to Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS), total phenolic content (TPC), and total flavonoid content (TFC) analyses. The bioautography of antioxidant assays, namely 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazy (DPPH), and β-carotene was performed. An in vitro A375 cell viability assay, apoptosis assay, cell cycle arrest assay, and gene expression assay were carried out as well. The experimental finding revealed 5,10-diethoxy-2,3,7,8-tetrahydro-1H,6H-dipyrrolo[1,2-a:1′,2′-d]pyrazine, ursodeoxycholic acid, and cholest-5-en-3-ol (3 beta)-, carbonochloridate are major compounds detected in PB extract. PB extract has low phenolic content, viz. 698.7 ± 0.93 (µg GAE/5 mg dry weight). The bioautography antioxidant assays revealed a potent antioxidant effect (ABTS > DPPH > β-carotene), with free radical scavenging activity. Furthermore, PB extract exhibited dose- and time-dependent inhibition of cancer activity on A375 cells due to the exhibition of apoptosis via an intrinsic pathway.

In recent biomedical research, the area of cancer and infectious diseases has a leading position in the utilization of medicinal plants as a source of drug discovery. Malaysia has a diversity and a large number of underutilized fruits that are rich in phenolic compounds. Artoarpus altilis consider an underutilized fruit that is rich in phenolic compounds. Methanol extracts of A. altilis have been previously found to contain a high content of antioxidant phytochemicals. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity and toxicological effect of methanol fruit extracts against MCF-7 cells. To determine the least concentration that might kill or suppress the growth of the cancer cells was in a concentration-dependent manner approach. The variation in the cytotoxic activity among the extracts was indicated by determining the IC50 of each extract against cells at 72 h. The IC50 of the samples was measured using a trypan blue exclusion assay. The methanol extract of the pulp part showed the least inhibition concentration of 15.40±0.91 μg/mL on MCF-7 cells. In the study, the molecular mechanism of methanol extracts-induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrested in human cancer cells were investigated in a time-dependent-manners approach by using flow cytometry. The treated cells were stained with nexin to detect early and late apoptosis and with propidium iodide (PI) for cell cycle arrest associated with the DNA fragmentation, various cell arrests occurred at G1/S, S, and G2/M phases. Lastly, the gene expression analysis by (RT-qPCR) method was carried out by analyzing the expression of the gene of interest for the quantification of mRNA levels. Results after cells treated with IC50 were revealed by upregulating anti-apoptotic genes/downregulated of pro-apoptotic BCL-2 gene expressions were triggered the treated cells into CASPASE-3, intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. These findings suggest that the methanol extracts of three parts of A. altilis fruit have potential anticancer activity against MCF-7 cells mainly the pulp part of the fruit.