in-silico and biochemical analysis of ethyl acetate fraction of olax subscorpioidea leaf on dmba-induced cell proliferation in female rats

Introduction: olax subscorpioidea is a medicinal plant that africans use to treat numerous ailments, including cancer. this research examines the antioxidant, anticancer, and in-silico properties of ethyl acetate fraction of olax subscorpioidea’s (osea) on 7,12-dimethylbenz(α) anthracene (dmba)-induced cell proliferation in female rats. methods: forty female sprague dawley rats averaging 110 ± 20 g were induced proliferation with dmba (80 mg/kg) and treated with ethyl acetate fraction (250 mg/kg bw) of o. subscorpioidea or tamoxifen (6.6 mg/kg bw) before and after induction. the trial lasted 22 weeks. in-vivo antioxidant parameters such as superoxide dismutase (sod), malondialdehyde (mda), and reduced glutathione (gsh) were examined. likewise, carcinoma antigen marker (ca153), and dna methyltransferase 3-like (dnmt3l) activity were measured. gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (gc-ms) detected the bioactive compounds, and molecular docking studies predicted the mechanism of action of osea against dna methyltransferase. results: treatment with osea significantly increased the sod activity, enhanced gsh levels, and lowered the levels of mda, ca-153, and dnmt3l in dmba-exposed rats. the gc-ms analysis of osea revealed the presence of 40 bioactive compounds. the molecular docking revealed that 4-cyclopentene-1,3-dione (-6.407 kcal/mol), 2-(2-hydroxyethylthio) (-4.926 kcal/mol) and 3,4,5,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride (-6.16 kcal/mol) had the lowest binding energies against dnmt1, dnmt3a, and dnmt3b, respectively. 2-(2-hydroxyethylthio) was the least toxic. the molecular dynamic simulation revealed that the interaction between dnmt3a and 2-(2-hydroxyethylthio) propionic was stable to an extent. : the in-silico and biochemical analysis of the ethyl acetate fraction of o. subscorpioidea showed that it can protect against lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress and may be a potent source of drug that serves as an effective therapeutic in the future.