Multifaceted evaluation of <i>Fumaria parviflora</i>: from bioactive isolation to anticancer screening and computational drug design

This study investigates the phytochemical composition and anticancer potential of <i>Fumaria parviflora (F. parviflora</i>) ethanolic extract. Preliminary screening confirmed the presence of multiple secondary metabolites, and chromatographic techniques led to the isolation of β-sitosterol, which was characterised by FT-IR, NMR, and LC-MS. However, <i>in vitro</i> cytotoxicity assessment against MCF-7 breast cancer cells revealed that β-sitosterol (RS-2) exhibited only moderate activity, with an IC₅₀ of 639.2 µM. Molecular docking studies also indicated weak binding affinity of β-sitosterol towards selected breast cancer-related targets. In contrast, other constituents, particularly bidenlignaside A and B, showed stronger interactions in <i>in silico</i>, implicating them as more promising candidates. Drug-likeness and ADME predictions supported the pharmacokinetic suitability of these key compounds. Collectively, the results highlight <i>F. parviflora</i> as a valuable source of bioactive molecules, although β-sitosterol alone may have limited therapeutic potential, warranting further investigation of more potent constituents for breast cancer therapy.