Cytotoxicity of Soursop Leaves (Annona muricata) against Cervical HeLa Cancer Cells

Background: Cervical cancer is the cancer with highest prevalence and the leading cause of women death in Indonesia. Current treatments available for cervical cancer are chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and nuclear therapy. Unfortunately, these treatments still have several limitations due to serious side effects, development of resistance, and very expensive price. Therefore, it is necessary to develop effective and low-cost therapy to treat cervical cancer. One of which is by utilizing natural sources available in Indonesia such as soursop (Annona muricata) leaves which has been used in folk medicine as a treatment for various diseases, including cancer. However, studies about its cytotoxicity against cervical cancer in Indonesia are still limited. Objective: The aim of this research is to analyze the potency of A.muricataleaves extracts originated from Indonesia as a novel alternative treatment for cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: A.muricata leaves obtained from Serpong, West Java, Indonesia were grounded and macerated in three different solvents with various polarity, namely ethanol (polar solvent), ethyl acetate (semipolar solvent) and hexane (non-polar solvent). Subsequently, the extracts were diluted into 8 various concentrations. Cytotoxicity of A.muricataleaves extracts against HeLa cervical cancer cells were determined by MTT assay and expressed by IC₅₀ value. Results: The results showed that three extracts of A.muricata have strong cytotoxicity against cervical HeLa cells. The highest cytotoxic activity was shown by etanol extract with an IC₅₀ of 35.51 μg/mL, followed by ethyl acetate (IC₅₀: 5.91 μg/mL), and hexane (IC₅₀: 8.39 μg/mL). Conclusion: A.muricata leaves extracts are potential to be developed as a novel alternative therapy for cervical cancer.