Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory, Antiviral and Anticancer Potentials of Zingiberaceae Species Used as Herbal Medicine in Indonesia

The Zingiberaceae family comprises 50 genera and 1300 species in South and Southeast Asia. Indonesia is one of the countries that have the greatest diversity of plant species from the Zingiberaceae family. This research aims to do phytochemical screening and bioassay of extracts of nine ginger species (Z. officinale var. Rubrum, Z. officinale Roscoe., Z. purpureum, C. longa, C. heyneana, C. purpurascens, C. aeruginosa, C. xanthorrhiza, and B. rotunda) from Indonesia. The dried powder rhizome of each species was extracted by maceration using methanol. The dry methanol extract obtained was tested for phytochemical screening and bioactivities. Phytochemical screening and activity assay were done using established methods. All extracts contained phenolics and flavonoids, with TPC values range 10–11 mg GAE/g. C. longa extract has the highest total flavonoid content (TFC = 1.720 QE/g). Z. officinale Roscoe exhibited the highest antioxidant activity against DPPH (IC50= 233.0 ± 7.9 μg/mL) and ABTS (IC50= 320.2 ± 27.4 μg/mL) radicals. C. xanthorrhiza extract showed the best anti-inflammatory activity with an IC50 value of 1.7 ± 0.0 μg/mL. Meanwhile, Z. officinale var. Rubrum, Z. officinale Roscoe, and B. rotunda exhibited the best cytotoxic activity against HeLa cells with respective IC50 values: 7.3 ± 0.3; 11.9 ± 1.3, 11.1 ± 1.4, and 13.7 ± 0.8 μg/mL. C. longa extract, also exhibited the most potent anti-dengue viral activity (IC50 value of 13.1 ± 0.2 μg/mL). This study’s findings unravel the potential of the Zingiberaceae family as a source of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and anti-dengue agents.