Chemical Profiling and Biological Activity of Gaertn.

Breast cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in women with a mortality rate of 6.6%. Adverse effects of synthetic drugs have directed research toward safer alternatives such as natural compounds. This study focused on Gaertn, an evergreen tree abundantly distributed in Tamil Nadu (India) for its possible application against breast cancer cells. leaf methanol extract, found within a wide range of phytochemicals, demonstrated cytotoxic effects against MCF7 breast cancer cells at IC of 34 μg/mL. The extract exhibited good antioxidant activities against DPPH (62%) and ABTS (80%), as well as concentration-dependent (100-800 μg/mL) anti-inflammatory potential of 18-60% compared to standards, ascorbic acid or aspirin, respectively. Moreover, even low extract concentrations (10 μg/mL) inhibited the growth of (1.9 ± 0.6 mm) and (2.3 ± 0.7 mm), thus showing high antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory potential. GC-MS and LC-MS analyses identified 31 and 16 components, respectively, of which selected compounds were used to evaluate the interaction between key receptors (AKT-1, COX-2, and HER-2) of breast cancer based on binding energy (ΔG) and inhibition constant (K). The results indicate that bioactive compounds from have potential against breast cancer cells, but further evaluations are needed.