Isothankunic acid from Centella asiatica targets signalling inducing caspase-3 activation and cell cycle arrest in PA-1 ovarian teratocarcinoma cells

Ovarian cancer remains a major cause of mortality due to chemoresistance and apoptosis evasion. This study evaluated the anticancer activity of a methanolic extract (ME) of Centella asiatica against PA-1 ovarian teratocarcinoma cells. The ME exhibited concentration-dependent cytotoxicity, with an IC₅₀ of 89.89 μg/mL. Apoptotic cells increased from 8.54% in controls to 66.3% following treatment, accompanied by increased active caspase-3 expression and a G2/M-arrest phenotype, indicating inhibited cell survival and proliferation. LC‒MS profiling identified multiple phytochemicals within the extract, which were subsequently evaluated using molecular docking, ADMET profiling and molecular dynamics simulations. Isothankunic acid has emerged as a potential bioactive candidate with favourable predicted interaction with estrogen receptor alpha. Overall, the ME demonstrated cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic effects in PA-1 cells, while isothankunic acid remains an analytically identified and computationally prioritized candidate requiring isolation and direct experimental validation.