Quantification of Active Compounds from Coffea canephora Pierre ex A.Froehner cascara and their Potential Against MCF-7 and HeLa

Background: The utilization of coffee cascara, a byproduct of coffee cultivation, in cancer therapy research. This research begins with the rationale of exploring medicinal plants, especially coffee, to obtain compounds that can target cancer cells with fewer side effects. Objectivity: This research aims to extract and evaluate the secondary metabolites from robusta coffee cascara, such as friedelin, lupeol, stigmasterol, ursolic acid, caffeine, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and catechin, for their cytotoxic activity against Hela and MCF-7 cells. The aim of this research is also to identify and understand the cytotoxic mechanisms of compounds like stigmasterol, which showed significant cytotoxicity against cancer cells, paving the way for developing targeted cancer therapies from natural sources. Methods: Robusta coffee cascara then goes to the process of extraction using ethanol, fractionation, isolation, purification, and characterization, followed by bioactivity evaluation using in vitro method through breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and cervical cancer cell line HeLa and determination of active compound levels. Results: The cascara, a byproduct of coffee cultivation, is rich in proteins, polysaccharides, and bioactive compounds. Through extraction and purification processes, eight compounds were isolated and characterized, including (1) friedelin, (2) lupeol, (3) Stigmasterol, (4) Ursolic acid, (5) caffeine, (6) Chlorogenic acid, (7) caffeic acid, and (8) catechin. Bioactivity evaluation shows that stigmasterol (3) is the most cytotoxic compound with a value against Hela cells with an IC5₀ value of 25.85 µg/mL in the toxic category and against MCF-7 cells with an IC₅₀ value of 12.83 µg/mL in the very toxic category. The results of determining the levels of active compounds in robusta coffee cascara extract showed that friedelin (1) 0.539±0.137%; lupeol (2) levels were 0.087±0.015%; (3) stigmasterol 0.126±0.046%; ursolic acid (4) 0.627±0.002%; caffeine (5) 3,203±0.069%; chlorogenic acid (6) 0.679±0.003%; caffeic acid (7) 0.153±0.003% and catechin (8) 0.359X0.012% mg/g extract. Conclusion: The research on robusta coffee cascara extract as a potential source of anticancer compounds.