Exploring the Cytotoxic Potential of Various Concentration of Extracts Tempe on Several Solvents on HSC-3 Cells: A Preliminary Study

• Published in: Natural product sciences Vol. 31; no. 2; pp. 84 - 91
• Main Authors: Fakhira, Athaya Rizkika, Amtha, Rahmi, Komariah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 한국생약학회 30.06.2025
• Subjects: 약학
• ISSN: 1226-3907; 2288-9027
• DOI: 10.20307/nps.2025.31.2.84

The increasing incidence of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has prompted interest in chemopreventive agents derived from natural sources. This preliminary study investigates the cytotoxic effects of tempe extract prepared from local soybeans under Indonesian National Standard (SNI 3144:2015) on HSC-3 OSCC cells. Tempe fermented for 4.5 days was extracted using 70% ethanol, 96% ethyl acetate, and water via maceration. A broad range of concentrations (3.125–5000 µg/mL) was tested to assess the cytotoxic response. The CCK-8 assay revealed that the ethanol extract had the strongest activity with the lowest IC50 (72.59 µg/mL), followed by ethyl acetate (103.4 µg/mL) and water (197 µg/mL). Although ethyl acetate extract showed more prominent morphological changes at higher concentrations, suggesting apoptosis that ethanol extract was more potent at lower doses. The weaker effects of water and ethanol extracts at higher doses may be influenced by the lack of estrogen receptor expression in HSC-3 cells, reducing isoflavone activity. These results highlight the cytotoxic potential of tempe extracts across a wide concentration range and support further investigation of tempe-derived bioactives as natural anticancer candidates. KCI Citation Count: 0