Sreening of L-Asparaginase from indigenous Indonesian plants as a potential anticancer agent to Mcf-7 breast and A549 lung cancer cells

L-Asparaginase (L-Asp) is an enzyme utilized for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The current bacterial L-Asp therapy often leads to undesirable side effects. L-Asp derived from plants of the Solanaceae and Fabaceae families may offer reduced side effects. The study aims to identify plants from these families with L-Asp activity. Initially, 11 plant species were selected: Crude protein was extracted using a 1 M potassium phosphate buffer at pH 8.6, with a plant-to-buffer ratio of 1:2. The extract was assessed for L-Asp activity using the Nessler reaction and protein content was also determined. The crude enzyme's specific activity was calculated, identifying one extract as a promising L-Asp candidate. Subsequently, optimal conditions for L-Asp activity were determined and isolation of L-Asp candidates involved salting out, dialysis, chromatography, Native PAGE, passive elution, enzyme activity and anticancer assay. The Archidendron pauciflorum seed extract exhibited significant characteristics: crude protein content of 237.08 µg/mL, L-Asp activity of 242.84 Units/mL, and specific activity of 1,024 Units/µg. Optimal activity was observed at 40⁰C, using 0.5 M potassium phosphate buffer at pH 8.8. Protein isolation indicated the L-Asp candidate's molecular weight ± 70 kDa, with activity and specific activity values of 240.74 Units/mL and 0.129 Units/µg. Anticancer assay showed that the acyive protein induced cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 and A549 cancer cells with an IC50 value of 6.43 and 8.07 U/ml. The cytotoxic activity of the active protein against these two types of cancer cells is classified as moderate and has potential as an anti-cancer agent.