Unveiling Nature's Treasure: Investigating the Antioxidant and Anticancer Activities of Mas Banana (Musa acuminata colla) Bracts from Lampung, Indonesia

Over the past decade, there has been a global focus on herbal medicines derived from plants. Mas Banana bracts have great potential to be transformed into natural medicine and nutraceuticals to improve the global health, in addition to being a local food supply. This study explores the phytochemical content, antioxidant, and anticancer activity of Mas Banana bracts grown in Lampung, Indonesia. Mas Banana bracts were fractionated with ethyl acetate. Using LC-MS/MS QTOF (Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Tandem Mass Spectrometry Quadrupole Time-of-Flight), the phytochemical composition of the ethyl acetate fraction of mas banana bractswas investigated. The analysis revealed the presence of Afzelechin and Moracenin D. The antioxidant potential was assessed by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, yielding a value of 810.79 mg/100 g. The anticancer activity tested against the HeLa cell line using standard procedures was seen from the cells viability percentage that reached 51.28%. The ethyl acetate fraction of Mas Banana bracts exhibited significant antioxidant and anticancer activities with greater activity against the HeLa cell line. The results show that the ethyl acetate fraction of Mas Banana bracts possesses anticancer and antioxidant properties and it can be used as a natural food preservative and as an anticancer agent for the treatment of cancer.