Abstract
Background Research studies have focused on discovering new anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic agents derived from natural products from which honey constitutes a prominent candidate. The Acacia honey (AH) is known to display anticancer activity, but the mechanisms of action are still not well defined. Objectives Using in vitro and computational approaches, we aimed to assess the interaction among selected bioactive compounds derived from AH, with the apoptotic protein p53, which could trigger apoptosis. Methods The phytocompounds of AH were investigated via gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry analysis. The cytotoxic effect and induced apoptosis on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line were assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide and acridine orange-ethidium bromide staining approaches. The molecular docking analysis between AH compounds and p53 was carried out. Results The drug-likeness prediction revealed that most of the identified compounds meet Lipinski's rules. We demonstrate that AH exerts an interesting cytotoxic effect in a dose-dependent manner against the MCF-7 cell line with IC50 5.053 mu g/mL. Significant cell alterations and notable induced apoptosis were detected when cells were treated with AH. The molecular docking analysis revealed that melezitose is among the most important potential bioactive compounds that interact with p53 leading to apoptosis. The binding affinity was -8.1 kcal/mol, and the closest molecular interactions in the active site included 10 residues, which could explain the potential biological activity. Conclusion This work sheds light on AH as a significant source of bioactive chemicals with potential for promoting apoptosis that may be exploited as an alternative therapy for breast cancer.