Network pharmacology and cytotoxicity of piper retrofractum in the treatment of breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in women worldwide. Piper retrofractum is a plant with high medicinal potential. This study investigated the potential bioactive compounds of P. retrofractum as anti-breast cancer agents through the network pharmacology technique and in vitro approaches. The network pharmacology was used for the selective active compound candidates as anticancer, prediction of protein interaction, and pathway in cancer, respectively. We evaluated the active ingredient-target-pathway network and discovered that beta-sitosterol has played a role in the development of breast cancer by affecting the genes CYP3A4, CYP19A1, ESR1, and NCOA1. An in vitro study found that P. retrofractum extract is cytotoxic with an IC50 value of 101.33 μg/mL, which promotes anticancer activity. This study concluded that P. retrofractum is a potential anticancer candidate. Copyright © 2026, Health Biotechnology and Biopharma. All rights reserved.