Comparative Study of Anticancer and Antibacterial Effects of Synthetic Drug Molecules and Natural Extracts from Simarouba glauca, Zingiber officinale, and Azadirachta indica

Natural plant-derived bioactives have emerged as promising candidates for addressing two major global health concerns – cancer and antimicrobial resistance – through their diverse biochemical mechanisms and low cytotoxicity. This study explored the dual therapeutic potential of Simarouba glauca, Zingiber officinale, and Azadirachta indica extracts, focusing on their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and their molecular interaction with the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), a critical target in cancer therapy. Ethanolic extracts of each plant were evaluated using agar well diffusion and spectrophotometric assays, revealing that Simarouba glauca and Zingiber officinale exhibited significant bacterial growth inhibition at 2500 µg/mL, achieving 93.9% and 87.8% inhibition respectively, while neem showed moderate activity. Complementary molecular docking studies using AutoDock 4 demonstrated that the neem compound exhibited the most favorable binding affinity with EGFR (−8.05 kcal/mol), followed by Simarouba glauca and Zingiber officinale, suggesting strong anticancer potential at the molecular level. Together, these findings highlight that naturally derived phytocompounds can simultaneously suppress microbial growth and interact effectively with cancer-associated targets, underscoring their potential as multifunctional therapeutic leads in the development of safer, plant-based biomedical agents.