In-Silico Molecular Docking Analysis of Black Currant Berries (Ribes Nigrum L.) Derived Compounds as Anti-Cervical Cancer Agents

Ribes nigrum L., commonly known as blackcurrant berries, is a species of the family Grossulariaceae. The extract of blackcurrant berries is abundant in polyphenols and can promote apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells, thus can act as a potential anticancer agent and shows promising results to treat various cancers. The various compounds present in the blackcurrant berries have already been identified as having anticancer properties in breast cancer and gastric cancer. In order to explore its potential further, we have performed a comprehensive In Silico analysis to study its effect on cervical cancer. A validated epigenetics-related enzyme, protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5), has been studied recently as a promising therapeutic target for Cervical cancer. Also, caspase-3 and caspase-9, apoptotic signaling proteins, can also act as potential target proteins for cervical cancer. With an endeavor to study the effect of blackcurrant berries, we have targeted the PRMT5, caspase-3, and caspase-9 for in silico for interaction study. We have used 12 volatile compounds of Ribes nigrum L. for the current study. Molecular docking and further free energy of binding calculations were performed falling in the range of (-5 to -9Kcal/mol) and (-40 to -70Kcal/mol) respectively which suggested strong interactions of selected compounds with the target proteins. The results showed a promising profile of the associated compounds which can be further investigated and evaluated for cervical cancer treatment and management studies.