The current biologically guided study aimed the in vitro investigation of cytotoxic activity, identification the phytochemical content of Moluccella laevis L. aerial parts and supporting this activity by molecular docking study. Aqueous fraction demonstrated the most potent cytotoxic effect against CACO-2 with IC 50 = 0.067±0.05 μg/mL. Furthermore, EtOAc fraction showed a remarkable cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cell line with IC 50 = 0.31±0.05 μg/mL. Consequently, total ethanolic extract (TEE) and its fractions were subjected to LC-HR-ESI-MS metabolic profiling to discover the constituents that possibly underlie their cytotoxicity. Twenty compounds were tentatively identified from metabolic analysis. Furthermore, eight compounds were isolated. In silico docking study revealed that stachydrine is more likely to account the antiproliferative activity of both EtOAc and aqueous fractions, probably via its moderate inhibition of receptor tyrosine kinases.

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The current study aimed to determine the various in vivo biological activities of Moluccella laevis L. aerial parts. The antiinflammatory activity demonstrated after 2 h, for both the total ethanolic extract (TEE) and the petroleum ether (Pet. ether) fraction, exhibited the same percentage of inhibition (26.24%) as that of the indomethacin, whereas the following hour showed results quite higher than that of the positive control. Additionally, the TEE showed higher antipyretic activity compared to the used standard acetylsalicylic acid with a rapid onset (30 min) and a longer duration exhibiting the maximum activity. After 4 h from the beginning of the experiment, the Pet. ether, ethyl acetate (EtOAc) and aqueous fractions displayed nearly the same effect as that of acetylsalicylic acid, which lasted up to 5 h. Moreover, the aqueous fraction exhibited the maximum analgesic activity with a rapid onset and a longer duration followed by the Pet. ether fraction, TEE and the EtOAc fraction. These activities could be explained by the presence of the highest amount of phenolic and flavonoidal contents, which are found in both EtOAc fraction and TEE. Due to the pronounced results of M. laevis L. aerial parts, it can be considered as a success of natural products in further drug discovery.

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Moluccella laevis L. belongs to family Lamiaceae (Labiatae or Mint family). It is an annual herb. It flowers from March to April. It bears dense spikes of small 2-lipped white fragrant florets with large, bell-shaped calyxes, known as ''Shell flower'' or ''Bells of Ireland''.It is cultivated as a decorative plant. By reviewing the literature, few botanical investigations were reported on this plant, which inspire us to explore both macro-and micro-morphological investigations of M. laevis L. stem, root and inflorescence, to aid the researchers in the authentication and identification of M. laevis in both entire and powdered forms.