Anticancer activity of secondary metabolites from bauhinia tomentosa linn. Leaf – an in silico approach

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Plants and plant derived products are used for human healthcare since the dawn of human civilization. About 80% of modern drugs are from natural origin. Many dreadful diseases like cancer are treated using drugs of natural origin. In the present study, a medicinal plant B. tomentosa Linn. leaves were investigated for its anticancer activity using A549 (Human Adenocarcinomic Alveolar Basal Epithelial Cells) cell lines. The active components were identified using GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry) analysis. The aim of the present study was to identify potential lead compounds against various protein targets that are involved in lung carcinogenesis using molecular docking approach. Materials and Methods: 3D structures of compounds reported from GCMS analysis of B. tomentosa were built using Chemsketch software. All the compounds analyzed exhibited antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and chemo preventive properties. Docking studies were performed using Molegro virtual docker (MVD). Results: The docking studies revealed that the ligands either activate or inhibit the selected target proteins appropriately. This shows that the phytochemicals of B. tomentosa leaf was found to have appreciable anticancer activity. Conclusion: The presence of various bioactive phytoconstituents justifies the use of the leaf for various ailments by traditional practitioners.