Abstract

In the present study, the anticancer activity of Morinda tinctoria fruit extract was evaluated in vitro and in silico. The ethanol extract of the fruit was prepared and subjected to preliminary screening and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis to identify phytochemical constituents. Free radical scavenging activity of Morinda tinctoria fruit extract was evaluated using 2,2’-azinibis(3- ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Morinda tinctoria fruit extract at 125 µg/ml concentration inhibited the growth of MDA-MB cell lines. The drug likenesses property of compounds present in the ethanol extract was analysed based on Lipinski’s rule of five. The breast cancer protein ErBb2 was chosen as target for studying the molecular interaction with selected ligands. Corynan-17-ol,18,19-didehydro-10-methoxy was selected as an efficient lead molecule against target-based on the lowest binding energy value of –5.9 Kcal/mol. This showed that the fruit of Morinda tinctoria could be explored to identify promising lead molecules against breast cancer.