Cytotoxic Activity of Plumbago zeylanica Chloroform Extract Against T47D Breast Cancer Cells: An Integrated In Vitro and In Silico Study

Retno Aliyatul Fikroh, Khafifah Aulia Wulayalin, Nunung Ratna Ningsih, Faris Hermawan

Abstract


Natural products remain a valuable source of anticancer agents due to their chemical diversity and multiple biological activities. Although Plumbago zeylanica has been widely recognized as a medicinal plant, the phytochemical composition and anticancer mechanism of its chloroform leaf extract against T47D breast cancer cells remain insufficiently characterized. This study aimed to investigate the phytochemical profile, total phenolic and flavonoid contents, cytotoxic activity, and potential molecular mechanism of the chloroform leaf extract through an integrated in vitro and in silico approach. Phytochemical constituents were characterized by GC–MS, total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined spectrophotometrically, cytotoxic activity was evaluated using the MTT assay, and molecular docking was performed against the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein. GC–MS analysis identified beta-sitosterol (22.65%), n-hexadecanoic acid (16.84%), cis-vaccenic acid (12.51%), phytol (5.37%), and stigmasterol (4.34%) as the major constituents. The extract exhibited high total phenolic (99.60 mg GAE/g extract) and flavonoid (69.67 mg QE/g extract) contents, together with moderate cytotoxic activity against T47D cells (IC50 = 36.34 mikrogram/mL). Molecular docking revealed that stigmasterol showed the strongest binding affinity toward Bcl-2 (delta G = -6.6 kcal/mol), suggesting a potential contribution to apoptosis-related activity. Collectively, these findings indicate that the chloroform leaf extract of P. zeylanica contains bioactive phytochemicals with moderate antiproliferative activity against T47D breast cancer cells and provides a basis for further mechanistic and preclinical investigations.

Keywords


Breast cancer; Cytotoxicity; Molecular docking; Plumbago zeylanica; T47D cells

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.14421/biomedich.2026.152.2041-2050

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Copyright (c) 2026 Retno Aliyatul Fikroh, Khafifah Aulia Wulayalin, Nunung Ratna Ningsih, Faris Hermawan



Biology, Medicine, & Natural Product Chemistry
ISSN 2089-6514 (paper) - ISSN 2540-9328 (online)
Published by Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University & Society for Indonesian Biodiversity.

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