Biological activity evaluation and in silico studies of polyprenylated benzophenones from garcinia celebica

This study aimed to isolate polyprenylated benzophenones from the rootbark of Garcinia celebica and assess their activities in vitro and in silico. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by the DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP methods. The cytotoxicity was evaluated against HeLa, MCF-7, A549, and B16 cancer cell lines. The antiplasmodial activity was performed against the chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium falciparum strain 3D7. Molecular docking was analyzed on alpha-estrogen receptor (3ERT) and P. falciparum lactate dehydrogenase enzyme (1CET). The prediction of ADMET for the compounds was also studied. For the first time, (-)-cycloxanthochymol, isoxanthochymol, and xanthochymol were isolated from the root bark of Garcinia celebica. The antioxidant and cytotoxicity evaluation showed that all benzophenones exhibited antioxidant activity compared to gallic acid and quercetin as positive controls and also exhibited strong activity against HeLa, MCF-7, A549, and B16 cell lines compared to cisplatin as the positive control. The antiplasmodial evaluation showed that isoxanthochymol exhibited activity against the chloroquine-sensitive P. falciparum strain 3D7. In addition, the in silico molecular docking study supported in vitro activities. The ADMET analysis also indicated the isolated benzophenones are potential oral drug candidates.