Constituents from Psorospermum guineense twigs, MDA-MB-231, lipoxygenase, antioxidant and Molecular Docking Studies

Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, characterized by the irregular proliferation of malignant cells and increasing resistance to known drugs. The importance of developing new chemotherapeutic agents is necessary. The present study focuses on Psorospermum guineense, used in traditional medicine to treat cancer, and associated carcinogenic processes such as tumour cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. A study of the chemical constituents of the twigs of Psorospermum guineense has resulted in the isolation and characterization of eight known compounds, namely: 3-geranyloxyemodine 1, 3-β-fridelanol 2, 3-geranyloxyemodine anthrone 3, 2-geranylemodine 4, Acetylvismione D 5, Betulinic acid 6, Ursolic acid 7 and Emodine 8 through LC-MS and selected 1D and 2D–NMR experiments. Single crystal x-ray diffraction analysis was used to confirm the relative configuration and conformation of compound 1. Preliminary cytotoxicity assays against the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell indicated that Ursolic acid 7 was the most active, with an IC₅₀ value of 9.88 μM and 95% CI of 9.03-10.5 μM. Acetylvismione D 5 exhibited better lipoxygenase inhibitory activity (19.8±0.16) and antioxidant activity (20.8±0.15) compared to the reference drugs baicalein (22.6 ± 0.08 µM) and Beta hydroxyl acid (BHA) (44.2 ± 0.07) respectively. Molecular docking studies were conducted to support lipoxygenase inhibitory activities of the test compounds.