In Silico molecular docking studies of bioactive compounds from Costus pictus for their anticancer potential

The Costus pictus, D. Don, is a member of the Costaceae family and is usually referred to as spiral ginger. It is a miracle treatment for diabetes. Its leaves aid in the body's ability to accumulate insulin. The insulin plant (Jose et. al., 2010[1,2]; Modak et. al., 2007) is the common name for it. The American-grown insulin plant is gaining popularity in India due to its therapeutic benefits. The present study involved GC-MS analysis of plant extracts using two different solvents: ethanol and petroleum ether. The ethanol extract yielded 26 compounds, while the petroleum ether extract revealed 24 compounds. From each extract, 4 compounds were selected for molecular docking studies using the target protein 7E75. The binding energies of the ethanol-derived compounds were -1.6, -2.2, -2.5, and -2.3 kcal/mol, respectively. In contrast, the petroleum ether-derived compounds exhibited binding affinities of -2.7, -2.8, -2.4, and -2.9 kcal/mol. These results suggest that the compounds obtained from the petroleum ether extract have comparatively stronger binding affinities than those from the ethanol extract.