{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,7]],"date-time":"2026-09-07T16:25:04Z","timestamp":1788798304775,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,9]],"date-time":"2025-01-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1736380800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004242","name":"Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PNURSP2024R150"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNURSP2024R150"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004242","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceuticals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Breast cancer remains a significant global health concern, with approximately 2.3 million diagnosed cases and 670,000 deaths annually. Current targeted therapies face challenges such as resistance and adverse side effects. This study aimed to explore natural compounds as potential multitargeted breast cancer therapeutics, focusing on Lucidin, an anthraquinone derived from Rubia cordifolia, and comparing its efficacy with Lapatinib, an FDA-approved drug. Methods: We performed multitargeted molecular docking studies on key breast cancer proteins using a natural compound library from ZINC. Comparative analyses of Lucidin and Lapatinib included molecular interaction fingerprints, pharmacokinetics, WaterMap computations (5 ns) to assess water thermodynamics and binding interactions, and Molecular Dynamics Simulations (100 ns) in water to evaluate complex stability and dynamic behaviour. Results: Lucidin demonstrated significant binding affinity and interaction potential with multiple breast cancer targets, outperforming Lapatinib in stability and binding interactions. WaterMap analysis revealed favourable hydration site energetics for Lucidin, enhancing its efficacy. The multitargeted profile of Lucidin suggests a broader therapeutic approach with potential to overcome resistance and side effects associated with Lapatinib. Conclusions: Lucidin shows promise as a novel, multitargeted anti-breast cancer agent with improved efficacy over Lapatinib. These findings provide a foundation for further in vitro and in vivo validation to develop Lucidin as a potential therapeutic option for breast cancer treatment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ph18010068","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,9]],"date-time":"2025-01-09T07:59:42Z","timestamp":1736409582000},"page":"68","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Lucidin from Rubia cordifolia Outperforms FDA-Approved Lapatinib as a Potential Multitargeted Candidate for Breast Cancer Signalling Proteins"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9554-944X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Akram Ahmed","family":"Aloqbi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3075-5514","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hadil","family":"Alahdal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8348-9451","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amany I.","family":"Alqosaibi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9277-3996","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mashael M.","family":"Alnamshan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6910-0534","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ibtesam S.","family":"Al-Dhuayan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9051-9639","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ahood A.","family":"Al-Eidan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hind A. S.","family":"Alzahrani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2145-5138","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nouf K.","family":"ALaqeel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 31441, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4695-346X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fatmah Hazza","family":"Alsharif","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Nursing, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21461, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7851-4365","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abeer","family":"Al Tuwaijri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Genomics Research Department, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs (MNGH), Riyadh 11481, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Department Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences Riyadh, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sahu, A., Ahmad, S., Imtiyaz, K., Kizhakkeppurath Kumaran, A., Islam, M., Raza, K., Easwaran, M., Kurukkan Kunnath, A., Rizvi, M.A., and Verma, S. 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