Network pharmacology, molecular docking and experimental approaches of the anti-proliferative effects of Rhamnus prinoides ethyl-acetate extract in cervical cancer cells

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Miles

Cervical cancer remains a difficult disease to treat, with current therapies often limited by severe side effects and the emergence of resistance. This study investigates whether extracts from Rhamnus prinoides root bark can selectively suppress cervical cancer cell proliferation, using the HeLa cell line as an in vitro model. Extracts were screened by MTT and evaluated for IC50 and CC50, alongside assays of morphology, migration, and cell-cycle effects, followed by GC/MS, network pharmacology target prediction, molecular docking, and RT-qPCR validation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

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Abstract

Introduction

Background and clinical burden

Rationale for traditional herbal alternatives

Study plant and traditional uses

Methods

Extract screening and anti-proliferative assessment

Functional cellular assays

Compound profiling and target validation

Heliyon 10 (2024) e37324 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Heliyon journal [homepage:](homepage: www.cell.com/heliyon)[ www.cell.com/heliyon](homepage: www.cell.com/heliyon) | Research article
Network pharmacology, molecular docking and experimental approaches of the anti-proliferative effects of Rhamnus prinoides ethyl-acetate extract in cervical cancer cells
Sally Wambui Kamau a ,b ,* , Mathew Piero Ngugib , Peter Githaiga Mwitari a , Sospeter Ngoci Njeru a ,**
a Center for Traditional Medicine and Drug Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kenya b Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology, Kenyatta University, Kenya | | | | --- | --- | --- | | A R T I C L E I N F O | | A B S T R A C T | | Keywords:
Cervical cancer Cytotoxicity
Rhamnus prinoides Network pharmacology Anti-proliferative activity | | Background: Cervical cancer, one of the lethal cancers among women, is a challenging disease to treat. The current therapies often come with severe side effects and the risk of resistance development. Traditional herbal medicine, with its potential to offer effective and less toxic options, is a promising avenue. This study was undertaken to investigate the potential of Rhamnus prinoides (R. prinoides) root bark extracts in selectively inhibiting the proliferation of cervical cancer cells, using the HeLa cell line as an in vitro model.
Methods: R. prinoides plant extracts were first screened at a fixed concentration of 200 μg/ml to determine the active extract. The selective anti-proliferative activity of the active extract was evaluated in a concentration dilution assay using the (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) MTT assay on cancerous (HeLa) cells and non-cancerous (Vero) cells to determine the half-maximal inhibitory (IC 50) and half-cytotoxic concentrations (CC 50), respectively. Functional assays on cell morphology (by microscopy), cell migration (wound healing assay) and cell cycle (by flow cytometry) were also conducted. The active extract was analyzed using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) to determine any compounds it contained. Following identification of possible gene targets by network pharmacology, the genes were validated by molecular docking and Real-Time Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR).
Results: The ethyl acetate extract of R. prinoides (EARP), the most active extract, selectively inhibited the growth of cervical cancer cells, their migration and induced cell cycle arrest at the S phase. In silico analysis revealed that squalene, 3,3a,6,6-tetramethyl-4,5,5a,7,8,9-hexahydro-1Hcyclopenta[i]indene and Olean-12-en-3.beta.-ol, acetate showed acceptable drug-like characteristics and may be partly attributed to the bioactivity demonstrated and the deregulation of themRNA expression of AKT1, NF-κB, p53, Bax, Bcl-2, and Er-b-B2.
Conclusion: This study, for the first time, demonstrates the anti-proliferation effects of EARP and forms a firm foundation for further drug development studies. | * Corresponding author. ** Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [salliekamau@gmail.com](salliekamau@gmail.com) (S.W. Kamau), snjeru@kemri.go.ke (S.N. Njeru). [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37324](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37324) Received 25 June 2024; Received in revised form 17 August 2024; Accepted 1 September 2024 Available online 2 September 2024 2405-8440/© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ([http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)). 1. Introduction Worldwide, the most frequent cause of fatalities is cancer, which has even been hailed recently as a “major public health challenge”. After lung, colorectal, and breast cancers, respectively, cervical cancer comes fourth in terms of prevalence. The bulk of new instancesand fatalities from cervi

FAQs

What is the main goal of this study?

To determine whether Rhamnus prinoides ethyl-acetate root bark extract can selectively inhibit the proliferation of cervical cancer cells, using HeLa cells as an in vitro model.

How was anti-proliferative activity measured?

Active extracts were screened at 200 μg/ml and evaluated using an MTT assay, with IC50 and CC50 calculated on HeLa (cancerous) and Vero (non-cancerous) cells.

Which additional experiments were used beyond viability assays?

Cell morphology was examined microscopically, migration was tested using a wound healing assay, and cell-cycle changes were assessed by flow cytometry.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Miles