Potential of Jahe Merah (Zingiber officinale) and Temu Kunci (Boesenbergia rotunda): As Stimulator of Antioxidant Enzyme Activity and Anticancer in HepG2 Cell Line

The rhizomes of jahe merah (Zingiber officinale) and temu kunci (Boesenbergia rotunda) contain lots of flavonoids and phenolics. So far, Indonesian people have used Z. officinale and B. rotunda as a mixture of cooking ingredients and as traditional medicine that are known as "jamu". This research was conducted to determine the potential antioxidant activity rhizome extracts of Z. officinale (Zo), B. rotunda (Br) and their combination (Zo+Br) in mice exposed to Pb. Furthermore, it is also to determine the anticancer activity in the hepatocyte carcinoma cell line (HepG2). Twenty-five male mice were to divide into 5 treatment groups, namely P1 = control, P2 = Pb 100mg/mL, P3 = Zo 100mg/mL + Pb 100mg/mL, P4 = Br 100mg/mL + Pb 100mg/mL, P5 = combination Zo+Br (ratio 1:1) 100mg/mL + Pb 100mg/mL. Treatment was given for 30 days and on the last day the mice were anesthetized and sacrificed. Their livers were taken to observe histologically changes in hepatocyte morphology, MDA levels, as well as the activity of the antioxidant enzymes SOD and CAT. In vitro antioxidant activity was also tested using the DPPH assay and anticancer activity was tested on HepG2 cells. The results showed that range of antioxidant activity was in the strong to very strong because it has an IC₅₀ value of Zo = 47μg/mL, Br = 67μg/mL and their combination (Zo+Br) = 100μg/mL. Treatment using Zo, Br and their combination can also prevent a significant increase in MDA levels and also significant decrease in SOD and CAT enzyme activity due to Pb administration. This is in line with the increase in normal cells and decrease in abnormal hepatocyte cells. In addition, administration of Zo, Br and their combination can inhibit the proliferation of HepG2 cells in the moderate cytotoxic range (IC₅₀ value ranges from 42.97 to 86.94µg/mL). The conclusion of this research showed Z. officinale, B. rotunda and their combination have potential as antioxidants and can be used as drug candidates to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.