Identification of phytochemicals and evaluation of anticancer activity of peels of Carica papaya fruit

Carica papaya (C. papaya), a member of the Caricaceae family, is a significant fruit crop grown in tropical and subtropical regions. The several constituents of C. papaya leaves, barks, roots, latex, fruit, flowers, and seeds have been widely acknowledged for their potential therapeutic use in traditional medicine. This study aimed to identify the phytoconstituents and evaluation of in silico and in vitro anti-cancer activity of the ethanolic extract of C. papaya fruit peel. Q-TOF LC-MS analysis was done in order to ascertain phytoconstituents in the C. papaya fruit peel extract. Through the use of molecular docking studies, the anticancer activity of the identified phytoconstituent, myo-inositol, was studied in a virtual environment. We used the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 to determine the in vitro anticancer activity through the MTT assay. Myo-inositol, identified through LC-MS analysis, plays an essential role in the facilitation of a number of cellular functions. The molecular docking analysis of myo-inositol with inhibitor of apoptosis protein (AIP) reveals that it has a strong interaction with docking scores of -10.45 Kcal/mol (5M6E), -12.32 Kcal/mol (5M6M), and 9.64 Kcal/mol (5M6N). In MTT assay, the extract at various doses exhibited cytotoxic effects on MDA-MB-23, with an IC50 value of 241.708 ± 8.052 µg/mL. In the morphological analysis, the treatment group showed shrinkage, detachment, membrane blebbing, and twisted form, which were not seen in the control group. The study reveals the LC-MS analysis of C. papaya fruit peel's phytoconstituents, which inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation, and their potential for use in cancer treatment.