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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research communications

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2026)

In silico and in vitro evaluation of anticancer and matrix metalloproteinase-1 inhibitory potential of Psidium guajava leaf ethanolic extract against A549 lung cancer cells

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.12369
Submitted
21 October 2025
Published
08-07-2026 — Updated on 25-09-2026
Versions

Abstract

A new case of cancer is diagnosed every two seconds, making it one of the deadliest diseases in the world. Despite advances in cancer therapy, overall survival rates have not improved for the last 30 years. The present study aims to screen the phytochemical constituents of Psidium guajava leaf extracts and evaluate their potential anti-cancer activity against human lung cancer cells (A549). The leaves of P. guajava were subjected to extract preparation using various solvents such as ethanol, chloroform and aqueous solutions, which were selected based on the polarity nature, using a Soxhlet apparatus. Quantitative analysis by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) was performed on the P. guajava ethanolic extract. Additionally, the in vitro antioxidant potential was evaluated through 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) scavenging, metal chelating assays. The anticancer activity was evaluated using the human A549 lung cancer cell line. In silico analyses are carried out by using selectively identified compounds from the ethanolic leaf extract of P. guajava. The results showed that phytoconstituents were present in all 3 extracts, but the ethanolic extract had the largest number of phytoconstituents compared to the other two, aqueous and chloroform, extracts. Additionally, the quantitative study demonstrated the existence of secondary metabolites in the ethanolic extract of P. guajava leaves. The GC-MS results indicate that the ethanolic extract of P. guajava leaves contains approximately 20 significant components. The A549 cells were treated with concentrations ranging from 100 to 600 µg mL-1 and incubation for 24 hr revealed a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability. The plant extract exhibited substantial cytotoxicity in the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The in silico analyses indicated that the matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) enzyme is resistant to phytoconstituents present in P. guajava leaves. The current study revealed that P. guajava leaves may have natural antioxidant and cytotoxic properties that are effective against lung cancer cells in an in vitro model; however, an in vivo study is needed to explore their anticancer activity.

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