Evaluation of Labisia pumila Extract Using Two Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis (2-DE) Proteomics Approach

Abstract

There are three verieties of L. pumila (Kacip Fatimah) that have been reported, namely L. pumila var. alata, L. pumila var. pumila and L. pumila var. lanceolata. These three varieties can be characterised through the size of petiole. Preliminary studies have shown that the var. alata and var. pumila are more commonly used as medicinal plants than var. lanceolata. Malay women traditionally consume water-soluble extract of the L. pumila var. alata leaves as a herbal medicine to treat menstrual irregularities, painful menstruations and to help contracting the birth channel after delivery. Over time, our herbal industry will face insufficient supply of local raw materials to feed the growing industry.Due to high demand of this species in the market, farmers started to produce the leaves via different method such as cultivation and tissue culture. We are also aware that in proteomics, the most promising technique with sufficient resolving power is two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) that provides a unique platform for the simultaneous separation of proteins in a complex mixture.This study was designed to evaluate the quality and standardization of the L. pumila var. alata leaves extract using 2-DE proteomics approach.  Our results showed the typical 2-DE protein profile of water-soluble extract obtained from wild, cultivated and tissue-cultured sample of L. pumila var. alata leaves respectively. No protein spot was observed at pH 3-10 with 1 mg water-soluble extract loading. In conclusion, our study may be used as a tool for evaluating the quality and standardization of the L. pumila var. alata leaves extract from wild, cultivated and tissue-cultured samples using 2-DE proteomics approach. Hence, we recommend that no protein spot should be observed at pH 3-10 with 1 mg water-soluble extract loading of L. pumila var. alatausing 2-DE proteomics approach.