Anticancer Activity of in Silico Interaction Between Curcumin and Cyclooxygenase 2 Enzyme

In this research, the in silico interaction between curcumin and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) was investigated using molecular docking with the AutoDock 4.0 software application. This study aimed to determine the pharmacokinetic profile of the compound, affinity, and exchange of curcumin with COX-2 inhibitors in silico. Curcumin’s interactions with COX-2 were compared to those of the known COXinhibitor, celecoxib. The pharmacodynamic test was used to show the free bond energy. Curcumin demonstrated anticancer activity by inhibiting the metabolism of arachidonic acid through the enzyme COX-2 and inhibiting free radicals in the enzymatic pathway. This was indicated by the value free energy (ΔG) of the curcumin compounds having a binding energy value of -8.81 kcal/mol, which is smaller than that of arachidonic acid (-5.20 kcal/mol). However, celecoxib had a more stable bond with the COX-2 inhibitors than curcumin, with a value of -10.11 kcal/mol. As a result, curcumin can be considered a suitable lead compound in developing new COX-2 inhibitors, which are a potential target for anticancer drugs. Keywords: curcumin, COX-2 inhibitor, anticance