Multifaceted evaluation of Fumaria parviflora : from bioactive isolation to anticancer screening and computational drug design

This study investigates the phytochemical composition and anticancer potential of Fumaria parviflora (F. parviflora) ethanolic extract. Preliminary screening confirmed the presence of multiple secondary metabolites, and chromatographic techniques led to the isolation of β-sitosterol, which was characterised by FT-IR, NMR, and LC-MS. However, in vitro cytotoxicity assessment against MCF-7 breast cancer cells revealed that β-sitosterol (RS-2) exhibited only moderate activity, with an IC50 of 639.2 µM. Molecular docking studies also indicated weak binding affinity of β-sitosterol towards selected breast cancer-related targets. In contrast, other constituents, particularly bidenlignaside A and B, showed stronger interactions in in silico, implicating them as more promising candidates. Drug-likeness and ADME predictions supported the pharmacokinetic suitability of these key compounds. Collectively, the results highlight F. parviflora as a valuable source of bioactive molecules, although β-sitosterol alone may have limited therapeutic potential, warranting further investigation of more potent constituents for breast cancer therapy.