Pharmacogn. Commn. 2018; 8(3): 103-107 A multifaceted peer reviewed journal in the feld of Pharmacognosy and Natural Products www.phcogcommn.org Original Article Pharmacognosy Communications, Vol 8, Issue 3, Jul-Sep, 2018 103 Bioactivities of Methanol and Ethyl Acetate Mace Extracts of Myristica fragrans Houtt ABSTRACT Introduction: Myristica fragrans Houtt is used as a spice in Indonesia. This study aimed to scientifcally validate the traditional use of mace from M. fragrans. Methods: The mace was extracted with methanol and ethyl acetate, and the chemical composition was analysed by GC–MS. The extracts were evaluated for their antibacterial activities against seven different bacteria based on a well diffusion method, their antioxidant activities based on DPPH radical scavenging assay, and their α-glucosidase inhibitory activities in vitro. Results: Four major components were identifed from both extracts: sabinene, methoxyeugenol, myristicin, and elemicin. The methanol extract (ME) had higher methoxyeugenol, myristicin and elimisin levels, whereas sabinene was dominant in ethyl acetate extract (EAE). Both extracts showed good antibacterial activity against S. aureus only. Both extracts showed good antioxidant activities, in which EAE showed stronger activity than ME (IC 50 94 μg GAE/ml and IC 50 162 μg GAE/ml, respectively). Furthermore, both extracts inhibited α-glucosidase more strongly than the standard acarbose, in which ME (IC 50 7.50 μg GAE/ml) exhibited stronger α-glucosidase inhibitory capacity than EAE (IC 50 10.65 μg GAE/ml). Conclusion: The results suggest that ME and EAE of M. fragrans have biological activities with high potential for pharmacological uses. Key words: Antibacterial, Antioxidant, GC-MS, α-glucosidase inhibition, Myristica fragrans. Correspondence: Adelina Simamora Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Krida Wacana Christian University, Jakarta, 11510, INDONESIA. Tel: +62-21-56942061 E-mail: adelina.simamora@ukrida.ac.id DOI: 10.5530/pc.2018.3.22. INTRODUCTION Natural products derived from plant materials are increasingly exploited in a number of felds, such as pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food. In recent decades, around 25% of the commercial drugs are developed from natural products, many of them have been prescribed as treatments for chronic degenerative diseases and infectious diseases. 1 Some of these illnesses are related to oxidative stress and are the main causes of mortality in the world (59.7% chronic degenerative diseases; diabetes 2.0%; infec- tious diseases 16.2%). 2 Treatments against such diseases are not always efective. In many cases, bacterial resistance is reported, making prognosis of infectious diseases worsen. From this point of view, new drugs are needed, and plants are still the main source. Te nutmeg tree, Myristica fragrans Houtt (family: Myristicaceae) is originally from the Moluccas in Indonesia. However, it has been success- fully cultivated in other Asian countries, such as India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and in the Caribbean islands, mainly in Grenada and Trinidad. Tis aromatic tree can grow 9-12 m high with spreading branch and yellowish fesh fruit. Inside the ripe fruit, is the brown seed kernel and the feshy scarlet mace covering the kernel. Nutmeg is widely used a spice and favour for foods and beverages. In addition, it has been traditionally used to treat a number of medical conditions such as diarrhoea and kidney disorders. Studies have reported antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiarrheal, and anti-infammatory activities of the species. 3-4 Despite the numerous pharmacological studies, M. fragrans Houtt had not been comprehensively studied. Most of the previous studies have been focused on the essential oil or the organic extracts from the seed and the mace parts of M. fragrans Houtt. 5-6 However, less work has been done in relation to the crude extracts from the mace using methanol and ethyl acetate as solvent extractor. Tus, the objective of this study was to investigate antibacterial, antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibition activities of methanol and ethyl acetate extracts (ME and EAE) obtained from M. fragrans Houtt’s mace. Both extracts were analysed for their total phenolic compounds and GC-MS profles. Adelina Simamora 1 , Adit Widodo Santoso 2 , Kris Herawan Timotius 1 1 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Krida Wacana Christian University, Jakarta, 11510, INDONESIA. 2 Department of Herbal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Krida Wacana Christian University, Jakarta, 11510, INDONESIA. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant material, chemicals, and bacteria Te maces of M. fragrans Houtt were collected from Halmahera (North Moluccas Province) in March 2016. Tese specimens were identifed by one of the authors (KHT). A voucher specimen (KWF007) was kept in the laboratory. All solvents and chemicals used in the experiments were analytical grade. Folin and Ciocalteu’s phenol reagent, 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), 3, 5-di-tert-butyl-4- hydroxytoluene (BHT), α-glucosidase from yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and p-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside as the synthetic substrate for the enzyme were purchased from Sigma- Aldrich (St. Louis, USA). Gallic acid was purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Dallas, USA). Sodium carbonate (Na 2 CO 3 ) was purchased from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). Ascorbic acid was purchased from VWR BDH Prolabo Chemicals (Tingalpa, Australia). Seven human pathogen bacterial strains were used for the antibacterial activity test: Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228, Staphylococcus epidermidis FNCC 0048, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO I, Staphylococcus aureus COWAN I and Streptococcus mutants ATCC 14721. Te bacteria used in this study were obtained from our university culture collection. Te original strains were obtained from Prof Hwang (Yonsei Christian Private University, South Korea) and Gadjah Mada University, Jogjakarta. Preparation of the extracts Te maces were rinsed with distilled water and dried in the shade at room temperature. Ten, they were crushed and ground into coarse powder to maximize the extraction yield. Te extraction was performed by successive maceration. Te powdered mace (50 g) was macerated by ethyl acetate over- night. Following fltration, the residue was further macerated by methanol (1:5 w/v) overnight. Each supernatant was reduced to dryness using rotary evaporator (Buchi, Switzerland) and further dried under N 2 stream to obtain a deep orange liquid. Te liquid was stored at 4 o C before use.