Abstract
Xylopia aethiopica (African pepper) is an intriguing medicinal plant which grows abundantly in West Africa and demonstrates a variety of pharmacological properties. This study assesses the cytotoxic activity of hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of the fruits and root of the plant against HCC-70, MCF-7, and MCF12A cell lines. The ethyl acetate fraction of the root had the strongest cytotoxic activity against HCC-70, a highly aggressive Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) cell line, with an IC(50) of 19.96 µg/mL. The hexane extract of the fruit had an IC(50) value of 30.39 µg/mL against MCF-7. The cytotoxic effects observed could be attributed to a wide spectrum of phytochemicals in the extracts. Using the fingerprint pattern from the (13)C-NMR of the extracts, seven compounds belonging to two classes (i.e., kaurene and trachylobane-type diterpenoids and aporphine-type alkaloids) were annotated from the extracts. Furthermore, these compounds were assessed in silico on several important tumour cell-associated proteins. Two compounds showcased excellent binding interactions across all the proteins investigated and displayed a favourable ADMET profile. N-methylnordomesticine and N-methyllaurotetanine are excellent leads for further medicinal chemistry development. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40203-026-00633-4.