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Molecular Networking, Docking, and Biological Evaluation of Licarin A from Myristica fragrans as a Potential Cancer

Peter J Blanco Carcache1,2, Ines Y Castro-Dionicio2, Nathan P Mirtallo Ezzone2

  • 1The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.

Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 26, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Researchers identified licarin A from mace as a promising cancer chemopreventive agent. This natural compound shows potent activity against prostate cancer cells and reduced cellular stress with lower toxicity than tamoxifen.

Area of Science:

  • Natural product chemistry
  • Chemoinformatics
  • Cancer chemoprevention

Background:

  • Current cancer chemopreventive options are limited, primarily for breast cancer (tamoxifen, raloxifene).
  • Natural products, like those from Myristica fragrans (mace), show potential chemopreventive activity.
  • Developing novel chemopreventive agents for various cancers is a significant unmet need.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and evaluate natural products from Myristica fragrans for cancer chemopreventive potential.
  • To utilize chemoinformatic tools (GNPS, molecular docking) for natural product discovery.
  • To assess the efficacy and toxicity of identified compounds in vitro and in vivo.

Main Methods:

  • Global Natural Products Social (GNPS) molecular networking and molecular docking for compound identification.
  • In vitro assays using DU-145 prostate cancer cells and Hepa1c1c7 mouse hepatoma cells.
  • Zebrafish (Danio rerio) toxicity evaluation.

Main Results:

  • Licarin A (1) was identified as a key chemopreventive constituent from Myristica fragrans.
  • Licarin A demonstrated superior phosphoNF-κBp65 phosphorylation activity in prostate cancer cells compared to isoliquiritigenin (2).
  • Both licarin A and isoliquiritigenin provided sustained reduction in cellular oxidative stress and licarin A showed lower toxicity in zebrafish than tamoxifen.

Conclusions:

  • Licarin A is a promising natural product with significant cancer chemopreventive potential, particularly for prostate cancer.
  • Its efficacy in reducing cellular stress and favorable toxicity profile warrant further investigation.
  • This study highlights the value of natural products and chemoinformatics in discovering novel chemopreventive agents.
Keywords:
cancer chemopreventiondockinglack of toxicitylicarin Amolecular networkingzebrafish

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