Suppressive efficiency of Kojic acid from Aspergillus tamarii MM11 against HepG-2 cell line derived from human liver cancer

Purpose: To evaluate the antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of Kojic acid (KOJIC ACID) from Aspergillus tamarii MM11 against HepG-2 cell line derived from human liver cancer.Methods: The crude extract of A. tamarii MM11 was dissolved in a mixture of CH2Cl2/MeOH (85:15) and separation was done using silica gel chromatography using gradient size exclusion chromatograph. The non-polar oily fractions were subjected to gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis. Kojic acid structure was identified by x-beam crystallography and spectroscopic methods. Total antioxidant properties of KOJIC ACID were evaluated by using 1,1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) against ascorbic acid as a reference. The cytotoxic activity of KOJIC ACID from A. tamarii MM11 was investigated on the human cell line of liver cancer (HepG-2) using a sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay based on a cell density determination by the measurement of cellular protein content.Result: Highly bioactive Kojic acid was isolated as the main product. A. tamarii MM11 Kojic acid showed good antioxidant activity with half-maximal inhibitory concentration of IC50 at concentrations of 10.34 compared to 6.79 μg/mL for ascorbic acid. Kojic acid also showed good cytotoxic activity against HepG-2 cell line of human liver cancer with IC50 at 6.20 compared to 3.25 μg/mL of reference drug doxorubicin.Conclusion: Kojic acid produced naturally from A. tamarii MM11 shows good antioxidant and cytotoxic activity against HepG-2 cell line derived from human liver cancer. These findings suggest that Kojic acid can be therapeutically used as an antitumor drug after further in vivo studies. Keywords: Aspergillus tamarii, Secondary metabolites, Kojic acid, Anticancer, Liver cancer