Genetic Diversity of Eurycoma longifolia Jack Based on Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Marker

Rosmaina Rosmaina,Zulfahmi Zulfahmi

doi:10.7226/jtfm.19.2.138

Abstract

Eurycoma longifolia Jack is one of the extensively exploited medicinal plants in Indonesia. The objectives of this study were to obtain information on genetic diversity and population genetic structure of E. longifolia to formulate effective conservation plan. RAPD marker was used to assess the genetic diversity of E. longifolia collected from 5 natural populations in Riau Province. A total of 25 plants were analyzed using 5 RAPD primers, which amplified produced 44 scored DNA bands. The mean observed number of alleles per locus (No), number of effective alleles (Ne), and percentage of polymorphic loci (PPL) of E. longifolia were 1.57, 1.34, and 56.80%, respectively. The degree of differentiation among populations of E. longifolia was 0.31 (Ht = 0.29; Hs = 0.20). The mean value of estimated gene flow among populations of E. longifolia was 1.11 individual per generation. The UPGMA dendogram formed 2 significant clusters. The first cluster consisted of Pelalawan and Kampar populations, while the second cluster was formed from Kuansing, Rohul, and Rohil population. The genetic diversity information in this study is very important to perform efficient conservation and effective future management of its genetic resources.

Highlights

Eurycoma longifolia Jack is a member of Simaroubaceae family and is widely distributed in South East Asia
In Indonesia, E. longifolia can be found in Sumatra and Kalimantan forests at an altitude < 700 m asl
The root extract of E. longifolia is known to contain biologically active compound that can be widely utilized as antimalaria (Chan et al 2005), to inhibit growth of human breast cancer cell line (Tee & Azimahtol 2005), to increase testosterone hormone level (Tambi et al 2011), to protect bone calcium loss (Effendi et al 2012), and as insecticide (Lina et al 2009)

Summary

Introduction

Eurycoma longifolia Jack is a member of Simaroubaceae family and is widely distributed in South East Asia. It is identified locally as pasak bumi in Indonesia, tongkat ali in Malaysia, Ian-don in Thailand, and 'Cay ba binh' in Vietnam (Osman et al 2005). In Indonesia, E. longifolia can be found in Sumatra and Kalimantan forests at an altitude < 700 m asl. E. longifolia is a small grown tree reaching up to 15 m in height and 15 cm in diameter. It is well grown in acid, sandy, and low nutrient soils and is often found among dipterocarps species (Hadiah 2000). The root extract of E. longifolia is known to contain biologically active compound that can be widely utilized as antimalaria (Chan et al 2005), to inhibit growth of human breast cancer cell line (Tee & Azimahtol 2005), to increase testosterone hormone level (Tambi et al 2011), to protect bone calcium loss (osteoporosis) (Effendi et al 2012), and as insecticide (Lina et al 2009)

Objectives

Methods

Results