unveiling bioactive agents in 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢 and 𝘍𝘰𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘮 𝘝𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘦: a dual 𝘪𝘯 𝘝𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘰 and 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘰 anticancer exploration

Nigella sativa (black seed) and foeniculum vulgare (fennel) are significant medicinal herbs due to their bioactive compounds, especially volatile molecules. this study aimed to evaluate the anticancer capabilities of the crude extract and the chemical components detected in these plants. gc-ms analysis of the methanolic extracts from both plants showed the presence of numerous phytochemicals. the cytotoxic activity of the extracts was assessed via the mtt assay against hepg2 and wrl-68 cells. all extracted compounds exhibited dose-dependent reductions in hepg2 cell viability, with volatile fractions demonstrating the highest anticancer activity. the ic50 values for n. sativa and f. vulgare were 110.6 and 139.0 μg. ml-1, respectively, prompting their selection for further analysis. notably, the n. sativa extract significantly inhibited hepg2 proliferation, with inhibition rates of 56.7 %, 50.4 %, 26.9 %, 9.2 %, 4.2 %, and 4.8 % at concentrations of 400, 200, 100, 50, 25, and 12.5 μg/ml, respectively. importantly, its effect on normal wrl-68 cells was markedly lower (28.1 % to 4.1 % inhibition). similarly, f. vulgare extract showed substantial anticancer activity, with inhibition rates of 36.6 %, 23.7 %, 12.5 %, 5.7 %, 4.0 %, and 5.1 % at the same concentrations, while exerting minimal cytotoxicity on wrl-68 cells (32.2 % to 4.0 % inhibition). molecular docking studies were conducted to evaluate the binding affinities of major compounds with cancer-related protein targets. in silico studies further supported the in vitro findings, with 9,12-octadecadienoic acid demonstrating strong binding affinities to key cancer-related proteins (tgf-βr1, inos, bcl-2, and tnf-α), suggesting its potential role in modulating inflammation and apoptosis pathways. these findings underscore the selective anticancer properties of n. sativa and f. vulgare seed extracts, highlighting their potential as natural chemotherapeutic agents. further research is warranted to isolate and characterize their active constituents for therapeutic development.