Bioguided Fractionation of Local Plants against Matrix Metalloproteinase9 and Its Cytotoxicity against Breast Cancer Cell Models: In Silico and In Vitro Study (Part II)

In our previous work, the partitions (1 mg/mL) of Ageratum conyzoides (AC) aerial parts and Ixora coccinea (IC) leaves showed inhibitions of 94% and 96%, respectively, whereas their fractions showed IC₅₀ 43 and 116 µg/mL, respectively, toward Matrix Metalloproteinase9 (MMP9), an enzyme that catalyzes a proteolysis of extracellular matrix. In this present study, we performed IC₅₀ determinations for AC n-hexane, IC n-hexane, and IC ethylacetate partitions, followed by the cytotoxicity study of individual partitions against MDA-MB-231, 4T1, T47D, MCF7, and Vero cell lines. Successive fractionations from AC n-hexane and IC ethylacetate partitions led to the isolation of two compounds, oxytetracycline (OTC) and dioctyl phthalate (DOP). The result showed that AC n-hexane, IC n-hexane, and IC ethylacetate partitions inhibit MMP9 with their respective IC₅₀ as follows: 246.1 µg/mL, 5.66 µg/mL, and 2.75 × 10⁻² µg/mL. Toward MDA-MB-231, 4T1, T47D, and MCF7, AC n-hexane demonstrated IC₅₀ 2.05, 265, 109.70, and 2.11 µg/mL, respectively, whereas IC ethylacetate showed IC₅₀ 1.92, 57.5, 371.5, and 2.01 µg/mL, respectively. The inhibitions toward MMP9 by OTC were indicated by its IC₅₀ 18.69 µM, whereas DOP was inactive. A molecular docking study suggested that OTC prefers to bind to PEX9 rather than its catalytic domain. Against 4T1, OTC showed inhibition with IC₅₀ 414.20 µM. In conclusion, this study furtherly supports the previous finding that AC and IC are two herbals with potential to be developed as triple-negative anti-breast cancer agents.