New Method of Crotepoxide Isolation from the Rhizome of Kaempferia rotunda

Abstract

Kaempferia rotunda, commonly known as Kunci Pepet, is a Southeast Asian plant. Among its various compounds, crotepoxide stands out as the major secondary metabolite found in its rhizome, classified under polyoxygenated cyclohexanes. This compound has demonstrated various bioactivities, including antibacterial, antileishmanial, and antimutagenic effects, and shows significant promise as an antitumor agent. The potential therapeutic applications of crotepoxide, spotlight the importance of K. rotunda in traditional medicine and modern pharmacology. Previous studies on the isolation of crotepoxide have often employed lengthy purification processes, resulting in low yields. This study aims to develop a simplified method for isolating crotepoxide from K. rotunda rhizomes, thereby enhancing the yield. The successful extraction was achieved through a maceration technique using acetone as the solvent, followed by purification via recrystallization and monitoring through thin-layer chromatography, yielding 70.4% of crotepoxide. The identification of the compound was confirmed through FTIR and 1D-NMR (¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR) analyses.