ANTHROPOGENIC EFFECTS ON WATER QUALITY, BIOACTIVE COMPOUND CONTENT, AND ANTICANCER ACTIVITY OF SOFT CORAL Sinularia sp. IN LIKUPANG WATERS, NORTH MINAHASA, INDONESIA

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine the anthropogenic effects of the waters of Likupang on water quality, the production of bioactive compounds from soft coral, and anticancer activity. Coral reef structure analysis is based on underwater photography with categories including sponges, soft corals, hard corals, sand fragments, and algae. CPCe analysis of nitrite, phosphate, ammonia, nitrate, pH, and dissolved oxygen was conducted via portable devices (HACH DR-890 and HACH HQ40d). Bioactive compounds from soft coral were extracted via 95% ethanol. To separate inorganic substances from bioactive compounds, reverse-phase flash chromatography was employed, with a C18 stationary phase and a mobile phase of methanol and dichloromethane. The bioactive compounds were separated via preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. Anticancer activity was evaluated via the MTT assay method with cervical cancer (HeLa) and breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines. Water quality measurements revealed a phosphate concentration of 0.55 mg/L, a nitrate concentration of 0.13 mg/L, a nitrite concentration of 0.14 mg/L, an ammonia concentration of 0.18 mg/L, and individual composition features of 0–10% hard coral, 3.12–17.26% coral blossoms, 2.14–4.16% algae, and 0–20.42% fragments. Two compounds with anticancer activity were obtained from Sinularia sp., namely, flexilarin B, with an LC50 value of 0.98 mg/L for HeLa cancer cells, and episinularide acetate, with values of 0.89 mg/L for MCF7 cells and 0.88 mg/L for HeLa cancer cells.