Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most commonly occurring cancer in the world. Acanthus ilicifolius is a mangrove plant (TCM) known for its medicinal properties. Two kilograms of plant extract yielded 0.121mg of sterols. Ethyl acetate and hexane mixture was found to be the suitable solvent for extraction in column chromatography. Subsequent HPLC and NMR analysis revealed the purity of the separated sterols. The Phytochemical compounds were analyzed by GC-MS and the structure was retrieved from PubChem. Totally, seven HCC target proteins were collected from literature, ligand and proteins were prepared for in silico molecular docking. HepG2 cell lines were used for in vitro (MTT assay). The phytochemical Cholest-5-en-3-ol (3, Beta.)-, carbonochloridate, exhibited maximum docking score against the HCC target protein C-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK 1) (-6.934). The purified sterols were tested for in vitro antioxidant assay and cytotoxic activity. DPPH scavenging activities of the sterols increased with the increase in concentration when it was compared with the reference antioxidant (vitamin C). The total antioxidant capacity was increased with increasing concentration of the plant extract at 500µg/mL. The hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity of the sample was less when compared to that of vitamin C but there was an increase with increase in concentration of the samples. Cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cell line, cell survival percentage was found to decrease with increasing concentration of the sample. The sterols exhibited potent activity in par with the standard drug doxorubicin. Therefore, an alternate drug from natural sources with potent activity and less side effects is need of the hour. Both in silico and in vitro studies indicated that the A. ilicifolius bioactive phytochemicals had anticancereous activity against Hepatocellular carcinoma. There can be a possibility of synergistic activity of phytochemicals together against HCC.
Key words: Acanthus ilicifolius; Sterol; Molecular docking; Hepatocellular carcinoma; GC-MS.