Vepris nobilis plant: a potential source of anticancer agents

ABSTRACT

Background: Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide. Current cancer therapy is costly, it has poor therapeutic outcomes and many side effects. Therefore, new medications are needed. Plants have been used as sources of anticancer drugs. Vepris species have anticancer properties. The purpose of this study is to assess Vepris nobilis, a plant found in Kenya as a potential source of anticancer drugs.Methods: The dichloromethane/methanol (CH2Cl2/MeOH) 11 extract of the stem bark of Vepris nobilis led to the isolation of an alkaloid named, 4,6-dimethoxy-7-((3-methylbuta-1,3-dien-1-yl)oxy)furo[2,3-b]quinolone. SwissADME online tool was used to assess the compound’s pharmacokinetic parameters. Pass online tool identified potential targets while protox server described the toxicity of the compound. Chimera and Avogadro softwares were used for molecular docking studies.Results: In-silico pharmacokinetic studies, showed that the isolated compound complied with Lipinski rule of five, it showed high gastrointestinal activity, and it also inhibits cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoforms 1A2, 2C9 and 2C19. In toxicity studies the compound was relatively safe with a predicted median lethal dose (LD50) of 1600 mg/kg, apart from potential immunotoxicity and mutagenicity. Molecular docking studies demonstrated that, the compound has potential anticancer activity, it interacted with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) topoisomerase I in an almost similar manner to camptothecin though it had less binding potential.Conclusions: 4,6-dimethoxy-7-((3-methylbuta-1,3-dien-1-yl)oxy) furo[2,3-b]quinolone derived from Vepris nobilis is a potential drug for the management of cancer which can be administered orally.