Scalable, Cost-Effective Natural Bioactive Phytochemicals for Cervical Cancer Therapy: A Comprehensive Therapeutic Assessment

Abstract

Introduction: Cervical cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide, necessitating the development of safer, scalable, and cost-effective therapeutic approaches. Natural bioactive phytochemicals have emerged as promising candidates because of their diverse pharmacological activities and favorable safety profiles.Methods: The present study comprehensively evaluated the in-vitro anticancer potential of selected natural bioactive phytochemicals, including quercetin, sulforaphane, scopoletin, icariin, and inulin (InUa). The compounds were isolated from medicinal plants using Soxhlet extraction, ultrasonic-assisted extraction, and maceration techniques, followed by qualitative phytochemical characterization. Their biological efficacy was investigated using multiple complementary in-vitro assays, including antimicrobial, DPPH free radical scavenging (antioxidant), anti-germination, protein degradation, nitric oxide scavenging, EDTA metal-chelating, and heat-induced hemolysis assays, with methotrexate serving as the reference standard.Results: The findings demonstrated significant concentration-dependent biological activities for all tested phytochemicals. Quercetin exhibited the highest antioxidant and protein degradation activities, whereas sulforaphane and scopoletin showed remarkable antimicrobial efficacy. Icariin and InUa displayed notable nitric oxide scavenging and metal-chelating capacities, indicating their ability to reduce oxidative stress and interfere with redox-dependent pathways associated with cancer progression. Several phytochemicals exhibited biological activities comparable to or exceeding those of methotrexate. Furthermore, the compounds inhibited microbial growth, enhanced free radical scavenging, promoted protein destabilization, reduced nitric oxide generation, stabilized erythrocyte membranes, and demonstrated strong cytoprotective properties.Conclusion: Collectively, these findings indicate that the investigated phytochemicals exert multifunctional anticancer effects through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, protein-modulating, membrane-stabilizing, and metal-chelating mechanisms. The study provides strong preliminary evidence supporting these scalable and cost-effective plant-derived bioactive compounds as promising therapeutic candidates for cervical cancer, warranting further validation through mechanistic studies, cervical cancer cell-line investigations, and in-vivo preclinical models.