Evaluation of the anticancer and antibacterial activities of moscatilin.

Orchids ( sp. have been the subject of extensive research due to their ubiquitous pharmacological, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties. Moscatilin is a bibenzyl secondary metabolite enriched in orchids that exhibits anticancer and antimicrobial properties through mechanisms that have not yet been fully elucidated. The current study aimed to assess the anticancer and antibacterial potential of moscatilin. The anti-proliferative effects of moscatilin against breast cancer-MCF-7 and liver-HepG2 cells were assessed using the dimethylthiazol-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Selected six pro-apoptotic () and two anti-apoptotic () gene markers were assessed qPCR and tested antibacterial activity against various bacterial strains using disc diffusion and broth dilution methods. Moscatilin decreased the cellular viabilities of HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cells, with anti-proliferation rates of 66 % (IC 51 ± 5.18 μM) and 58 % (IC 57 ± 4.18 μM), respectively. This effect was selectively observed in cancer cells, and the impact of moscatilin on non-cancerous MCF-12 cells was marginal. Moreover, moscatilin-treated cells exhibited higher mRNA levels of and , whereas lower levels of and , two anti-apoptotic markers, were observed. Furthermore, moscatilin exhibited varying degrees of antibacterial activity against the bacterial strains investigated. Notably, the highest antibacterial potentials were observed against and , while the lowest inhibitory activity was observed in and . Overall, these findings demonstrated that moscatilin exerts potent anticancer effects apoptosis and has antimicrobial properties against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria that are clinically relevant. These findings highlight the potential of moscatilin as a natural therapeutic candidate for the treatment of cancer and clinically important bacterial pathogens.