Name: Nanang Rudianto Ariefta
Affiliation: NRCPD, Host Defense
Position: Foreign Visiting Researcher
Term: April 2020 to November 2020
Host researcher: Professor Yoshifumi Nishikawa (English /Japanese)
Circumstances of application:
My field of study is natural products chemistry, focusing on the isolation and identification of new metabolites produced by plants and fungi. The following question, after identifications of certain metabolites, is the utilization of those new substances, on how they can give benefit to humankind. The NRCPD gives a chance to answer my research question by the open invitation for the foreign visiting researcher. Accordingly, I encouraged myself to apply for this position.
Research activity in NRCPD:
Under the guidance of Prof. Yoshifumi Nishikawa, my research activity is focused on the antiplasmodial and anti-Toxoplasma activities of Indonesian plants, endophytic fungi, and their derived metabolites. In this study, 20 plant extracts and two new fungal metabolites were in vitro tested against Toxoplasma gondii RH-GFP and Plasmodium falciparum 3D7. Among 20 plant extracts, eight extracts were exhibited potent antiplasmodial activity. Additionally, spirocollequins A and B, a pair of new diastereomeric isoindolinone alkaloids isolated from Colletotrichum boninense AM-12-2, were also exhibited potent inhibition against P. falciparum 3D7.
Future prospects:
Study in the interdisciplinary field and multinational members in the NRCPD gives me a new perspective and challenges related to the research world. Through supports from NRCPD and its members, especially Prof. Nishikawa, I also had a chance to be accepted as JSPS postdoctoral fellow and could have a chance to continue work on the utilization of endophytic fungi against protozoan diseases in deeper investigations in my future study.