<i>In vitro</i> and <i>in silico</i> study of <i>Aloe vera</i> leaf extract against human breast cancer

Abstract

<i>Aloe vera</i> leaf contains some bioactive compounds that have a strong binding affinity toward estrogen receptor as compared to standard drug tamoxifen. In this study, we have found that the IC₅₀ of <i>Aloe vera</i> leaf extract against breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) is 23 µg/mL which is much lower than the IC₅₀ (332 µg/mL) of <i>Aloe vera leaf extract</i> against non-cancerous cell line (NIH-3T3). We have also calculated the total concentration of phenolic acid (385.662 µg/mL), flavonoids (160.402 µg/mL) and alkaloids (276.754 µg/mL) in <i>Aloe vera</i> leaf extract. The free radical scavenging activity of <i>Aloe vera</i> leaf extract is 67% to 89% (at 50 to 300 µg/ml). Our virtual molecular docking study suggests that bioactive compounds like Aloe-emodin (-8.8 Kcal/mol), 7-hydroxy-2,5 dimethylchromone (-7.5 Kcal/mol), Beta-sitosterol (-7.3 Kcal/mol) etc. have a greater binding affinity toward estrogen alpha receptor as compared to standard drug Tamoxifen (-6.4 Kcal/mol). [Formula: see text].