Exploring the anticancer potential of bioactive fractions of Erythrina variegata L. in MDA-MB-231 cell lines

Erythrina variegata L. (Fabaceae) has been traditionally reported to possess antitumour, expectorant, febrifuge, antibacterial and antioxidant properties. In the present work, the methanol extract of stem bark of E. variegata (MEV) and its fractions such as hexane (HFEV), chloroform (CFEV), ethylacetate (EAFEV) and methanol (MFEV) were assessed for their cytotoxic potential against triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line MDA-MB-231 using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. In this MTT assay, the chloroform fraction was found to be the most potent. Apoptotic changes induced by CFEV were further examined through acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) dual staining and 4′, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining. Expression of the antiapoptotic gene Bcl-2 was analysed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Phytochemical profiling of the extract was carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high resolution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HRLC-MS). The findings demonstrated a concentration-dependent cytotoxic effect of CFEV in the cell lines. In silico docking study revealed that compounds like melochinone (-8.4 kcal/mol), sesamin (-7.9 kcal/mol), muricinine (-7 kcal/mol), 5-hydroxy-3-methoxysativan (-7.3 kcal/mol), 2,3-dihydroxy p-cumate (-6.2 kcal/mol) and alpinumisoflavone (-8.3 kcal/mol) had good binding affinity with Bcl-2 protein. Furthermore, it triggered apoptotic cell death through the mitochondrial-dependent intrinsic pathway, suggesting that E. variegata may serve as a promising source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential against breast cancer.