Preliminary Yeast-Based Evaluation of Medicinal Plants from Indigenous Communities in the West Coast and Northern Sabah, Malaysia, for Protein Phosphatase Inhibition
Keywords:
Glc7/PP1, indigenous ethnomedicine, Sabah, Yeast-basedAbstract
Sabah, Malaysia, is renowned for its rich biodiversity and multicultural heritage, creating a unique blend of ethnomedicinal knowledge. A total of 22 medicinal plants traditionally used by the Bajau, Dusun, and Rungus communities in Kota Belud, Kota Marudu, and Matunggong, Sabah, were collected through a direct ethnopharmacological approach. Crude extracts were prepared using methanol extraction and evaluated for their inhibitory activity against yeast Glc7, a homolog of human protein phosphatase 1 (PP1), which is considered a promising pharmaceutical target for diseases such as cancer, malaria, and fungal infections. A yeast-based assay was used to evaluate the PP1 inhibitory activity of the crude extracts with two strains: PAY704-1 (wild-type Glc7) and PAY700-4 (Glc7-10, a heat-sensitive mutant). The strains were incubated at 28 °C and 37 °C, with or without 1 M sorbitol as an osmotic stabilizer to assess cell wall integrity under Glc7-compromised conditions. This setup enabled a clear analysis of sample-induced inhibition. Notably, Sarah (Glochidion sp.) and Merabau (Senna sp.) exhibited selective Glc7/PP1 inhibitory activity as a zone of inhibition was observed only in strain PAY704-1 at 37 oC in the absence of 1 M sorbitol. This inhibitory activity has not been previously reported. Given the high conservation of PP1 across different organisms, these plants may serve as potential sources of new PP1 inhibitors, contributing to future drug development.
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